Investigation of the clinical and radiographic features of osteoarthrosis of the temporomandibular joints in adolescents and young adults

Objective

The objective of this study was to investigate the clinical and radiographic features of osteoarthrosis (OA) of the temporomandibular joints (TMJOA) in human adolescents and young adults.

Study design

Patients (n = 4883) with temporomandibular disorders (age, 11 to 30 years) underwent clinical and radiographic examinations. The radiographic findings were classified as erosive bony changes, proliferative changes mainly, including flattening with uneven sclerosis, and osteophytes of the condyle, and bilaterally short condylar processes. In addition, we interpreted the reassessment radiographs of 156 of the patients.

Results

Seven hundred eleven patients had radiographic signs of OA. The frequency of OA was higher in women (563/3360, 16.8%) than in men (148/1523, 9.7%). Most patients (541/711, 76.1%) with signs of OA showed proliferative changes of OA. Moreover, 56.4% of patients with TMJOA (88/156) remained stable.

Conclusions

These results suggest that although OA is an age-related disease, aging is not the crucial factor in the pathogenesis of OA.