Abstract:

Aim: The aim of the present study is to determine the prevalence of the PneumatizedArticular Tubercle (PAT) and to evaluate the characteristics of PAT in Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) images. Material and Methods: A retrospective study was performed using tomographic images of 276 patients (133 male, 143 female) aged between 12-85, whohad attended to Oral and Maxillofacial Radiology Department for different CBCT indications. Age, gender and presence of PAT were recorded for all patients and, for cases of PAT, laterality and radiographic types were also recorded. Obtained variables were entered SPSS 20 software and the prevalence of PAT was evaluated with chi-square test according to genders and age groups. Results: The average age of the subjects was 37.75 ± 17.1. Of the 276 patients, 39 (14.1%) had PAT, of whom 22 were female (15.4%) and 17 were male (12.8%). This difference was not statistically significant (p=0.535). PAT was most common (25.6%) in patients aged between 20-29 years and the least common (6.4%) in patients aged between 50-59 years. The difference was statistically significant between age groups (p=0.008). Of the 39 cases, 22 (56.4%)had unilateral, and 17 (43.6%)had bilateral PAT. 35 (62.5%)PATsweremultilocular and 24(37.5%) were unilocular. Conclusion: PAT was found to be a common anomaly on CBCT images.Presence andcharacteristicsof PAT should be evaluated with CBCT to avoid possible complications especially in patients who will get a surgical intervention to the joints eminence region.

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