Judgment of abnormal condylar surface forms in edentulous patients by temporomandibular joint noise.

Forty-five patients with upper and lower complete dentures with no subjective symptoms of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) were studied. On initial examination, the existence of abnormal condylar surface forms and temporomandibular joint (TMJ) noises were checked in order to study the relationship between these abnormalities. Zonography was conducted to observe the abnormal condylar surface forms, and stethoscopy was conducted to detect TMJ noises. The results demonstrated the relationship between the abnormal condylar surface forms and TMJ noise at the significant level of 0.02%. Furthermore, a judgment of the presence of the abnormal condylar surface form could be based upon the existence of TMJ noise at the sensitivity value of 0.60.