Temporomandibular Joint Imaging

There had been a long standing desire of the dental students to be able to understand the basic techniques for temporomandibular joint (TMJ) imaging. Temporomandibular joint imaging, an adjunct to the clinical examination, provides useful information about the joint components, status and function of the joint that helps in establishing a definitive diagnosis. When selecting a TMJ imaging technique, the clinician must determine what type of information is needed from imaging study and whether that information will affect patient management. Knowing the diagnostic accuracy of imaging modality is essential for its clinical use. The accuracy of tomography, arthrography, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging has been investigated in several studies. All techniques have demonstrated relatively high accuracy in determining osseous conditions and disk position, MR imaging having the highest accuracy demonstrating both the joint structures and the sur­rounding soft tissue.