Avaliação da posição espacial do côndilo em relação ao sexo, tipo facial e classe esquelética

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to perform an analysis of the condylar process in relation to gender, facial types and skeletal classes using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images. CBCT images of 159 patients of both sexes, fully dentate, who did not undergo previous orthodontic treatment, were analyzed. Measurements were taken of the medial inclination of the condyle in relation to the midline (MI), the distance from the geometric center of the condyle to the midline (MLD), intercondylar distance (ICD) and anteroposterior distance between the geometric center of the right and left condyles (APD). Patients were classified according to the skeletal classes (I, II and III) and in relation to facial types in dolicho, meso or brachyfacial. Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate intra and inter-rater reliability. Data was analyzed using two-way ANOVA, Tukey’s post-hoc and Student’s t-test (a = 5%). The ICC ranged from 0.94 to 0.99, demonstrating excellent agreement. The male patients presented higher values of MI, MLD and ICD in a significant way (p <0.05). In Class I patients, the measurements did not differ from each other, regardless of the facial types (p> 0.05). In the Class II patients, MLD and ICD were higher in mesofacial patients; for APD, the measurements were higher for dolicho and mesofacial patients, while MI was higher only for brachyfacial patients (p <0.05). In Class III patients, MLD, ICD and APD were higher in dolicho and brachyfacial patients, differing only in MI that was lower for dolicho and mesofacial patients (p <0.05). Therefore, in conclusion, the spatial position of the mandibular condyles is directly associated with sex, skeletal class and facial type.