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.


METHODS
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.
Department of Oral Radiology and Center for TMD and Orofacial Pain, Peking University, School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing, China.
Yan-ping
YP
Zhao
Zu-yan
ZY
Zhang
Yun-tang
YT
Wu
Wan-lin
WL
Zhang
Xu-chen
XC
Ma
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013704:Temporomandibular Joint / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000473:pathology*; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D055815:Young Adult