COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF ARTICULAR EMINENCE INCLINATION AND MANDIBULAR CONDYLE FRACTAL DIMENSIONS OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF EDENTULISMFarklı

Objective: To estimate if a correlation exists between edentulousness type and changes in the articular eminence inclination (AEI) and to compare these data with the trabecular structure of the mandibular condyle using fractal analysis. Material and Methods: A total of 88 panoramic radiographs and 176 temporomandibular joints (TMJ) of four groups (n=22), which were divided according to dental status, were evaluated according to the AEI and fractal dimensions (FD) of the temporomandibular joints by one radiologist using the ImageJ (National Institutes of Health. MD, USA) program, retrospectively. The conformity of the values with normal distribution was evaluated using the Shapiro-Wilk test. A one- way ANOVA model was used while comparing the edentation status and relationships between FDs, and AEI measurements were assessed using Pearson’s correlation analysis. The level of statistical significance was taken as p