Association Between Missing Posterior Teeth and Occurrence of Temporomandibular Joint Condylar Erosion: A Cone Beam Computed Tomography Study

Purpose: To determine a possible association between asymptomatic temporomandibular joint (TMJ) condylar erosion and the number of missing posterior teeth and their location, as well as the number of dental quadrants with missing posterior teeth. Materials and Methods: This case-control study involved 210 patients (male to female ratio = 98:112) aged 16-74 years, with 105 asymptomatic patients with TMJ condylar erosion and a control group of 105 patients without TMJ condylar erosion. Cone beam computed tomography images were evaluated to classify the severity of TMJ condylar erosion as grade 0 (absence of erosion), grade I (slight erosion), grade II (moderate erosion), or grade III (extensive erosion). Results: The number of missing posterior teeth (mean ± standard deviation [SD]; 2.7 ± 2.4 vs 0.7 ± 1.2) (P .001), number of dental quadrants with missing posterior teeth (1.5 ± 1.3 vs 0.6 ± 0.9) (P .001), and bilateral location of missing posterior teeth (41 ± 39.0 vs 10 ± 9.5) (P .001) were all significantly higher in patients with erosion than in those without erosion. The condylar erosion grade was significantly associated with the number of missing posterior teeth (odds ratio [OR] = 1.24; P = .006), the number of dental quadrants with missing posterior teeth (OR = 1.36; P = .006), and the bilateral occurence of missing posterior teeth (OR = 3.03; P = .002). Conclusion: The findings from this study suggest a possible association between TMJ condylar erosion grades and the number of missing posterior teeth, the number of quadrants with missing posterior teeth, and the bilateral occurence of missing posterior teeth.