Disc displacement (DD) appears in the majority of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. The correlation between craniofacial morphology and different disc positions has been underlined, while the craniofacial morphological differences based on sex and sagittal skeletal pattern stratification have been insufficiently studied. In this study, 304 patients with TMD complaints were included and classified into normal position, disc displacement with reduction (DDwR) and disc displacement without reduction (DDwoR) groups according to magnetic resonance imaging. A total of 24 cephalometric measurements, covering the cranial base, vertical relationship, sagittal relationship, mandible position and morphology, and dental relationship, were assessed using lateral cephalograms. A stratified analysis was performed based on the sex and sagittal skeletal pattern. Overall, DD patients had distinctive craniofacial morphological features. The posterior cranial base length and mandibular arc angle were statistically different only in females, while the Y-axis angle, occlusal plane angle and sella nasion point A angle (SNA) might be unique features in males. Skeletal class II had the most statistically different measurements compared to the others. Differences in the Frankfort mandibular incisor angle (FMIA) and saddle angle were especially displayed in skeletal class III patients. The sex and skeletal sagittal pattern could affect the morphological differences in TMD patients with different disc positions.
Keywords: cephalometry; disc displacement; magnetic resonance imaging; sagittal skeletal pattern; sex; temporomandibular disorders.