Tomographical evaluation of the condyle and mandibular fossa in the treatment of Class II and Class III malocclusions. Literature Review.

Abstract

The treatment of various skeletal malocclusions in children and young’ patients are performed applying orthopedic forces, seeking to alter growth or open sutures in certain anatomical regions. The condyle (CO) and mandibular fossa (MF) are regions that have been subjected to intense forces awaiting bone remodeling as part of the treatment. Due to the classic two-dimensional records used to assess anatomical morphological changes, many results have been controversial. With the use of tomography and modern tomographic superposition techniques, it is possible to identify these morphological changes quantitatively and qualitatively in bone structures. An integrated literature review of the morphological alterations of the CO and the MF was performed using Computed Tomography (CT) and Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) in patients with Class II and Class III skeletal malocclusions who used appliances with orthopedic forces. In the literature review, the objective was to identify morphological changes that occurred in the CO and the MF after applying the most accepted treatment protocols for the respective malocclusions. In this way, it will allow us to eliminate intervening factors such as distortions, unwanted overlaps of anatomical structures and various measurement errors that have the characteristic of two-dimensional classic records altering the correct information.