Three-dimensional measurements of symmetry for the mandibular ramus

Background

The study examines a sample of patients presenting for viscerocranial computer tomography that does not display any apparent signs of asymmetry, assesses the three-dimensional congruency of the mandibular ramus, and focuses on differences in age and gender.

Methods

This cross-sectional cohort study screened viscerocranial CT data of patients without deformation or developmental anomalies. Segmentations were obtained from the left and right sides and superimposed according to the best-fit alignment. Comparisons were made to evaluate three-dimensional congruency and compared between subgroups according to age and gender.

Results

Two hundred and sixty-eight patients were screened, and one hundred patients met the inclusion criteria. There were no statistical differences between the left and right sides of the mandibular ramus. Also, there were no differences between the subgroups. The overall root mean square was 0.75 ± 0.15 mm, and the mean absolute distance from the mean was 0.54 ± 0.10 mm.

Conclusion

The mean difference was less than one millimetre, far below the two-millimetre distance described in the literature that defines relative symmetry. Our study population displays a high degree of three-dimensional congruency.

Our findings help to understand that there is sufficient three-dimensional congruency of the mandibular ramus, thus contributing to facilitating CAD-CAM-based procedures based on symmetry for this specific anatomic structure.