Measurement of morphologic parameters of fixed area of Chinese temporomandibular joint prosthesis with three-dimensional computed tomography images and its significance

Objective: To measure the morphologic data of Chinese temporomandibular joint (TMJ) with computed tomography (CT) reconstruction technology, and to clarify the safe area for the fixation of Chinese temporomandibular joint prosthesis. Methods: A total of 100 adult skulls were scanned by CT and reconstructed. The width,thickness and angle h1, h2, h3, h4, d1, d2, d3, d4, ab, bc, cd, ad, α and β of zygomatic arch, the width and height BD and h of articular fossa and the width, thickness and angle S, h5, h6, h7, l1, l2, l3, l4, l5, m1, m2, m3, m4, m5 and γ of mandible in the fixed area of the TMJ prosthesis were measured; all the measurement indexes were divided into left and right groups by direction, and SPSS 19.0 software was used for the comparion of the measurement between left and right groups. Results: There were no statistical differences in the measurement index values of h1, h2, h3, h4, d1, d2, d3, d4, ab, bc, cd, ad, α, β, BD, h, S, h5, h6, h7, l1, l2, l3, l4, l5, m1, m2, m3, m4, m5 and γ in zygomatic arch, articular fossa and mandible in the fixed area of the TMJ prosthesis between left and right groups (P > 0.05); the width of h2 was longer than that of h3 in zygomatic arch (P = 0.048); the thickness of d3 was thicker than that of d4 (P < 0.01). Conclusion: The measurement data of TMJ fixed area is obtained with three-dimensional CT images. (authors)