Hi friends! I'm Priya Mistry, the TMJ doc, and today I'm going to talk to you about
imaging and why it's so important for the accurate diagnosing and treatment of TMJ Disorders.
I've seen many of you on Facebook Forums, my YouTube channel asking questions about
CBCT versus MRI, and so I hope this video gives you some clarification
as to the imaging systems that are most commonly used with TMJ Disorders.. so be
sure to watch until the end to learn more about Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) and Magnetic
Resonance Imaging (MRI) - two imaging systems that are used in the diagnosis of TMJ Disorders.
For those of you who don't know who I am, I'm a General Dentist with a practice in Portland,
Oregon dedicated to taking care of patients with TMJ Disorders. Please do check out my Instagram
handle if you haven't already. I post here three or four times a week with a lot of information,
tidbits, trivia, tips about TMJ Disorders, and so if you like to geek out on that stuff like i do
please be sure to check it out! So let's get right into it! What is CBCT? It's basically radiographic
imaging that allows us to see the hard tissues in three dimensions. Dental CT - CBCT -is much
less radiation than medical CTs. In terms of TMJ Disorders, CBCT allows us to see the bony
components of the joints, it allows us to see the upper cervical vertebrae, anything that can
influence the position of the mandible. We also take a very good look at all of our patients
airways. We can see - in three dimensions - the nasopharyngeal airway, the air passage behind the
nose and behind the mouth and we can actually calculate out the area or volume of air flow
in that passageway. And the reason I'm talking about airway in the first place, is because
there's a very distinct connection between sleep apnea and TMJ Disorders, but that's for a whole
other video so I'm not going to delve too much into that right now. This CBCT imaging allows us
to diagnose and see osteoarthritic changes within the joint - whether that's loss of cartilage,
roughened bone, or changes in the shape of the condylar head itself. What is Magnetic Resonance
Imaging, or MRI? MRI is a unique imaging system that utilizes computer generated radio waves
and a magnetic field to allow us to see detailed images of the tissues and the organs in our body.
Pretty neat, huh? In terms of TMJ Disorders, MRIs allow us to see the soft tissue components of the
Temporomandibular Joints, or TMJs. The MRI allows us to see the articular discs within the joints
and the lateral pterygoid muscle - which can be a key player in TMJ Disorders as well. An
MRI is the only way to 100 accurately diagnose a displaced disc within the Temporomandibular Joint,
whether that disc is displaced with or without reduction. FFor more information on that,
if that just sounded like a bunch of technical jargon that I threw at you, watch my videos
"Jaw Locked Closed" Parts One and Two, as well as "Jaw Joint Noises - Snap, Crackle, Pop!". I
tried to be clever there, so please enjoy. I get a lot of questions about which imaging is best
and why. To be totally honest, both are ideal for accurately diagnosing TMJ Disorders. At my office,
we do CBCT scans on every single patient and we have that machine to do so in our office.
We refer out for MRIs as needed per patient. The limiting factor for many patients for an MRI is
simply the cost of them. I'm currently looking into working with a local MRI imaging center
to kind of establish a deal so that this can be more affordable for my patients, because i truly
feel it's valuable to have all the information possible. I always like to say knowledge is power,
so I always want to know exactly what's going on. So that's it, my friends. If you like what you
heard, if you learned something new, click "Like" below, SUBSCRIBE to my channel, do all the things.
Make sure if you have questions or comments, put them in the comment box below. I'll be
sure to answer, and remember -you can never have TMI about TMJ! Thank you!