The importance of multisection sagittal and coronal magnetic resonance imaging evaluation in the assessment of temporomandibular joint disc position

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate diagnoses of temporomandibular (TMJ) disc displacement by comparing evaluations done on the basis of central sagittal scans only, the most often used in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients, with a multisection evaluation done with both sagittal and coronal scans. Materials and methods Multisection MRI analysis of 382 TMJs was conducted in 191 patients with disc displacement according to RDC/TMD criteria. Disc position in the intercuspal position (IP) was assessed two times using two different methods. The first method involved a TMJ disc position evaluation on the central slide in the oblique sagittal plane only. In the second method, the TMJ disc position was assessed on all oblique sagittal and coronal images. McNemar’s χ2 test was used to evaluate the differences between the sensitivities of two methods. Results The first method (central oblique sagittal scans assessment) identified 148 TMJs (38.7%) with normal disc position compared with 89 TMJs (23.3%) with normal disc position found by the second method (all oblique sagittal and coronal scans assessment). The sensitivity of analysis in both planes was significantly higher than in the sagittal plane only (p < 0.001). Conclusions The multisection analysis in the sagittal and coronal plane allows to distinguish the correct disc position from disc displacement and thus improve evaluation of TMJ internal derangement. Clinical relevance The multisection sagittal and coronal images should be recommended as a standard in MRI of the TMJ disc displacement in patients with TMD to avoid false-negative diagnoses.