Conventional
radiography should be preferred over CT scan for TMJ arthritis imaging as it
avoids exposure of radiations to patients and presents similar results.
According to the findings of a study published in the Current Rheumatology Reviews, “both the conventional radiography and CT scan are equally effective to assess the degenerative osseous changes of TMJ in arthritis but to avoid un-necessary radiation exposure to the patient the conventional approach should be preferred.
The study involved a total of 30 osteoarthritis and 40 rheumatoid
arthritis patients between 40 to 60 years. These patients were assessed for osseous
changes in the glenoid fossa and mandibular condyle using two approaches; one
was conventional TMJ imaging, and other was CT scan. These patients were
categorized into symptomatic and asymptomatic according to clinical history.
Radiographical analysis was also conducted. In the beginning, the trans-cranial
view was taken using conventional left and right TMJ followed by CT scan, and
an elucidation was done to record the osseous changes such as flattening,
osteophyte formation, erosion and sclerosis. Both approaches exhibited a similar
efficacy in estimating the osseous changed in arthritic patients. As no
difference was noticed, the researchers preferred the traditional approach as
it is not associated with undesirable radiation dosage to the patients.
Current Rheumatology Reviews
TMJ Arthritis Imaging: Conventional Radiograph Vs CT Scan - Is CT actually needed?
Richa Modgil et al.
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