The Effect of Age and Tooth Loss on Articular Eminence Slope: An Orthopantomographic Study

Objective: To investigate whether morphologic changes in the cranial component of the temporomandibular joint are associated with aging or tooth loss and, if so, whether articular eminence flattening is more associated with age or edentulism. Methods: Ortopantomographs of patients admitted to the hospital for routine dental treatment were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were divided into 4 groups according to their age and edentulous status. Group1: 49 patients aged 18-35 years with occlusal support, Group2: 46 patients aged 36-59 years with occlusal support, Group3: 43 patients over 60 years with occlusal support, and Group4: 42 patients over 60 years with lost occlusal support. The Frankfort horizontal plane and the articular eminence slope were drawn on the radiographs and the angle between them was measured and the differences between the groups were analyzed. Results: There was no significant correlation between age and flattening of the articular eminence angle (P=.645). A statistically highly significant difference was observed between Group 4 and all other groups in terms of articular eminence angles (P=.01). Conclusion: Since there was no significant correlation between age and articular eminence angle, and since the articular eminence angle was significantly different in Group 4, which consisted of completely edentulous patients, compared to all other groups, it was concluded that AEA may be related to edentulism rather than age. Study emphasizes the importance of occlusion by identifying tooth loss as a possible cause of the decrease in AE slope. Keywords: Age groups, dental occlusion, edentulous mouth, temporomandibular joint