Correlation between temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis and mandibular cortical width measured on computed tomography

Purpose: Computed tomography (CT) is frequently used in the diagnosis of oral and maxillofacial diseases. However, very few studies have assessed the association between osteoarthritis (OA) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and mandibular cortical width (MCW), which is used to assess bone quality using CT. The present study sought to assess the correlation between MCW and presence or absence OA of the TMJ using CT. Materials and methods: This was a retrospective cohort study in which a total of 101 women with a mean age of 53.72 years (range: 20–90 years) underwent CT at our university hospital between April 2019 and July 2019. The variable “mean MCW” was evaluated as a predictor. The primary outcome comprised the presence or absence of OA in the TMJ. The other variable was age. Data were analyzed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient, the Mann–Whitney U test, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05. Results: The mean MCW values in the OA group were significantly lower than that in the non-OA group (P < 0.01). In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between age and mean MCW values (P < 0.05). Moreover, ROC analysis revealed a cutoff MCW value of 3.3 mm for predicting the association of OA. Conclusions: These results suggest that MCW may be a useful parameter for predicting the association of OA in the TMJ.