Volume 25 , Issue 1 , June 2023 , Pages 124-131
Ranj Adil Jalal 1 ; Khadija Muhamad Ahmed 1 ; Shahla Muhamad Saeed 2
1 Department of Oral Diagnosis, College of Dentistry, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
2 Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Sulaimani, Sulaimaniyah, Iraq
Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the condylar dimensions in Rheumatoid
Arthritis (RA) patients and compare them to condylar dimensions of healthy persons and
try to find out correlations between dimensional condylar changes and jaw movements in
RA patients. Methods: This case-control study was performed on 40 RA patients with
ten healthy adults (control cases). Clinical examination with Cone Beam Computerized
Tomography (CBCT) was done for participants. Independent and paired t-tests with
correlation coefficient tests were used for data analysis by the SPSS program. Results:
There was a significant difference between RA and controls regarding the means of their
unassisted and assisted maximum mouth opening and the mean of right lateral jaw
excursion also. The mean condylar length in RA patients was 6.88 mm while in control
cases was 7.61, and the mean condylar width in RA was 16.77 and in controls was 16.53
mm, and the mean condylar height was 18.02 mm in RA and 21.14 mm in controls
without significant difference between both groups. There was a positive correlation
between the condylar dimensions and the jaw movements. Conclusions: Condylar
height and width were decreased in RA patients in comparison to the control group,
indicating bony changes in the upper condylar surface. In addition, RA patients have
decreased range of jaw movements like mouth opening, which might result from bony
changes and reduction in condylar dimensions.