Assessment of the Thickness of the Roof of the Glenoid Fossa Using Cone Beam Computed Tomography in Asymptomatic Korean Adult Patients

Received September 3, 2019 Revised September 4, 2019 Accepted September 4, 2019 Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the thickness of the roof of the glenoid fossa (RGF) in Korean adult population without symptoms of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). Methods: CBCT Data from 111 Korean adult patients aged ≥25 years (55 males and 56 females) without signs and symptoms of TMD were analyzed retrospectively in this study. The thickness of the RGF was determined as the perpendicular distance between the ‘glenoid fossa line’ and ‘middle cranial fossa line’ on parasagittal and paracoronal reconstructions, respectively. The thickness of the RGF according to sex and age was analyzed using t-tests (p<0.05). Differences were also examined between the right and left sides, and between the paracoronal and parasagittal sides. Results: The mean thickness of the RGF in all subjects was 0.75±0.39 mm; there was no significant difference in thickness between male (0.78±0.36 mm) and female (0.72±0.30 mm). We found no correlation between age and the mean thickness of the RGF, when age was grouped by decade. However, when subjects were divided into >40 years and ≤40 years age groups, the thickness of the RGF was significantly different between the groups. Conclusions: We found that the thickness of the RGF did not differ by sex, but might be affected by aging. Further studies with larger numbers of subjects are needed to confirm the results of this study.