Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol. 2023 Jun 22:S2212-4403(23)00516-3. doi: 10.1016/j.oooo.2023.06.009. Online ahead of print.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the effect of mandibular asymmetry on the trabecular structure of the mandible as measured through fractal analysis (FA).
STUDY DESIGN: We divided a sample of 105 patients with skeletal class I occlusion, cervical vertebral maturation CS6, and skeletal vertical dimension ratios within normal limits into right asymmetric, left asymmetric, and symmetric groups. We performed FA on 6 bilateral regions of interest on panoramic radiographs of the patients and calculated the mean fractal dimension (FD) for each region. We performed the Wilcoxon signed-rank and paired t tests to compare the significance of differences in FD between sides within each group and between groups for all regions. Statistical significance was established at P < .05.
RESULTS: We found statistically significant differences in mean FD values between the right and left condyles of the 2 asymmetric patient groups. The FD was greater in the left condyle of patients with right asymmetry and in the right condyle of patients with left asymmetry. The right condyle had a significantly greater FD in left asymmetric patients than in right asymmetric patients.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of FA indicate that asymmetry is characterized by an increase in the mean FD of the condyle that is responsible for the asymmetry. Fractal analysis can be a valuable diagnostic technique in distinguishing trabecular differences in the condylar areas of asymmetric individuals.
PMID:37516622 | DOI:10.1016/j.oooo.2023.06.009
