Objective: To provide a rationale for determining the midsagittal plane of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) elements by the anatomical landmark for estimation of the individual depth of a tomographic section at targeted linear TMJ imaging.
Material and methods: Cephalometry of 20 human skulls. Targeted linear TMJ imaging in the lateral projection in 176 patients.
Results: The anatomical landmarks of the midsagittal plane of a tomographic section were determined and the latter's anatomical landmark (a reference searching point) was found to estimate the individual depth of the tomographic section at targeted linear TMJ imaging. There was an agreement between the midsagittal plane of the TMJ and that of the frontal process of the zygomatic bone (the lateral orbital wall). The latter was ascertained to be rightly used as a cephalometric point and taken as an individual anatomical landmark indicating the level of a tomographic section at targeted linear TMJ imaging. The individual anatomical landmark was used to examine 176 patients at targeted linear TMJ imaging. Six hundred and four tomography scans were studied. Excellent- and good-quality pictures were obtained in 94.2% of cases. The section depth was 2.0 to 3.0 cm in 86.7% of cases (2.5, 2.0, and 3.0 cm in 42.2, 21.6, and 22.9%, respectively).
Conclusion: The proposed procedure could exclude search samples and minimize the dose of radiation and the time of survey depth determination.