The Effect Of Advancing Age On The Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis Findings

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) findings in elder patients with cone beam computed tomography. Materials and methods: One hundred and sixty-seven patients (136 women, 31 men) participated in the study. Three hundred and thirty-four joints were evaluated in the study. According to the presence of OA, TMJs were divided into two groups as “with osteoarthritis” and “without osteoarthritis”. When any of the osteoarthritis findings were present, the joint was included in the “with osteoarthritis” group. OA findings were listed as osteophyte, erosion, flattening, sclerosis and pseudocyst. Also, TMJs were divided into two age groups: Group 1 (50-64 years old) and group 2(65-81 years old) For statistical analysis, SPSS v20 were used. Results: There was no significant difference between genders for the presence of OA (p>0.005). There were significant differences between group 1 and group 2 for erosion, flattening and sclerosis (p0.005). Conclusion: Radiological findings like erosion, flattening and sclerosis can be seen more common with advancing age.