Anterior condylar remodeling observed in stabilization splint therapy for temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis

Objective To comparatively evaluate condylar surface bone formation and cortical thickening in patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis, with or without stabilization splint (SS) therapy. Study Design This retrospective study of 57 OA patients included 18 patients who had undergone SS therapy (SS group), compared with 39 patients that had not received SS therapy (non-SS group). To evaluate osseous changes on the condylar bone formation and cortical thickening, pre- and post-treatment cone beam computed tomography images of each patient were superimposed using voxel registration. Results The SS group exhibited a higher ratio of bone formation in the anterior division of the condyle; the non-SS group exhibited mostly no change. The SS group was found to have higher frequencies of cortical thickening in the anteromedial, anterior-intermediate, anterolateral, posteromedial, and posterior-intermediate sections than the non-SS group. Conclusions SS therapy in temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis induced favorable bone remodeling in the anterior division of the condylar head.