Objective: In the present study, a correlation between skeletal class (SC) and retrocranial condylar displacement in clinically mimicked bruxism function in condylography was examined. First of all, it was assessed whether subjects with SC II, due to their anatomy, had a greater predisposition for condylar displacement above a given pathologic threshold than subjects with SC I or SC III. Other parameters such as age and gender in connection with SC were also evaluated.
Materials and methods: Condylographies (on an individual hinge axis) of 385 retrospectively selected subjects were evaluated in correlation with cephalometric measurements, and a cluster analysis was performed.
Results: A connection could not be established between pathologic displacement of the condyle under clinically simulated bruxism function and SC. Half of the subjects examined showed a potentially pathologic displacement of the condyle under bruxism function.
Conclusion: The results of the cluster analysis and the lack of correlation between condylar displacement above a given threshold and SC indicate a complex etiology, with a rather multifactorial genesis of the functional disorders of the temporomandibular joint.