Oral Radiology

, Volume 32, Issue 1, pp 61–65 | Cite as

Apparent discontinuity of the roof of the glenoid fossa on cone-beam computed tomography images of an asymptomatic temporomandibular joint

  • Asma’a Abdurrahman Al-Ekrish
  • Ibrahim A. Alorainy
Case Report
First Online:
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Accepted:
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Abstract

The thickness of the roof of the glenoid fossa (RGF) is highly variable, but there are no reported cases of absence of mineralized bone at the RGF in an asymptomatic patient. We present the rare finding of a large apparent discontinuity of the RGF discovered incidentally on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of an asymptomatic temporomandibular joint in a 22-year-old female, which was proven to be a normal joint on magnetic resonance images. The apparent discontinuity of the RGF in this case, considered in the light of known measurements of the RGF, may actually represent very thin bone that could not be visualized because of the relatively large CBCT voxel size. A review of the published literature revealed no clinical significance of a thin RGF.

Keywords

TMJ Anatomy Cross-sectional CBCT MRI 

Notes

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the College of Dentistry Research Center and the Deanship of Research, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, for their support in this research, and Dr. Lamia Hassan Al-Maghrabi, ENT Consultant at King Saud Medical City, for her valuable advice during the preparation of this manuscript.

Conflict of interest

Asma’a Abdurrahman Al-Ekrish and Ibrahim A. Alorainy declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Human rights statement and informed consent

All procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1964 and later versions. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for being included in the study. Approval was obtained from the College of Dentistry Research Center Ethical Review Board (FR 0198).

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Copyright information

© Japanese Society for Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology and Springer Japan 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  • Asma’a Abdurrahman Al-Ekrish
    • 1
  • Ibrahim A. Alorainy
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, College of DentistryKing Saud UniversityRiyadhKingdom of Saudi Arabia
  2. 2.Department of Radiology, College of MedicineKing Saud UniversityRiyadhKingdom of Saudi Arabia

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