Condylar repair and regeneration in adolescents/young adults with early‐stage degenerative temporomandibular joint disease: A randomised controlled study

Abstract Background Anterior repositioning splint (ARS) can facilitate regenerative condylar remodelling. Objective To determine the effect of ARS on osseous condylar changes in adolescents/young adults with early‐stage degenerative joint disease (DJD). Methods Sixty‐nine patients with early‐stage temporomandibular joint (TMJ) DJD based on the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging were recruited and randomly allocated to two treatment groups: (a) conservative therapy with ARS and (b) conservative therapy without ARS. Subjects with acute TMJ closed‐lock had their displaced discs physically reduced by mandibular manipulation prior to ARS therapy. Clinical and CBCT data of 59 patients (86.4% females, mean age 17.95 ± 4.53 years, 67 joints) were attained pre‐ and at 6 or 12 months post‐treatment. Osseous changes after treatment were categorised into (a) progressed, (b) unchanged, (c) repaired (remodelled without new bone formation) and (d) regenerated (remodelled with new bone formation). Statistical analysis including chi‐square test, independent samples t test or Mann‐Whitney U test was conducted. Results About 85.5% of patients (59/69) completed the study, with 28 subjects (32 joints) in the splint group and 31 (35 joints) in the control group. The occurrence of condylar repair and regeneration was significantly higher with ARS (78.1%/[25/32] of joints) when compared to control group (48.6%/[17/35]) ( P < 0.05). Moreover, condylar regeneration was exclusively observed in 50%/(16/32) of joints with ARS. For the 14 joints in splint group that received physical TMJ closed‐lock reduction, 85.7%/(12/14) exhibited condylar regeneration. The splint group (3.1%/[1/32]) also had significantly lower incidence of progressive TMJ degeneration than the control (37.1%/[13/35]) ( P < 0.001). Conclusion Condylar repair and regeneration in early‐stage TMJ DJD are possible, and ideal spatial disc‐condyle relationship appears important. The possibility of restoring TMJ form/structure by ARS therapy presents an attractive area of new basic science and clinical research (Bone defect repair in early osteoarthrosis of temporomandibular joint by joint distraction therapy: A randomized controlled trial/ChiCTR‐TRC‐14005172).