Cervical lordosis angle measured on lateral cephalograms; findings in skeletal class II female subjects with and without TMD: a cross sectional study

The literature reports evidence of various types of correlations between cervical alterations
and cervical pain, and the existence of cervical pain in subjects with temporomandibular joint internal
derangement (TMD). The hypothesis of this study is that cervical lordosis angle (CVT/EVT angle) alteration
on cephalometrics could be correlated to the presence of TMD. The cephalometric records of 50
females with documented TMD were compared with those of a control group of 50 females. The subjects
in the sample were 25-35 years of age, average 28.9 years (SD, 3.2). Radiographs were taken in
mirror position, and seventeen variables, including the CVT/EVT angle, were traced. Double measurements
were made to evaluate method error using Dahlberg’s formula. Pearson’s correlation coefficient
and Mann-Whitney’s t-test were used to evaluate the data. Intra-group analysis showed significant correlations
between the CVT/EVT angle and mandibular length (p<0.01), mandibular position (p<0.05),
mandibular divergence (p<0.01), and overjet (p<0.01) in both groups. Between groups, the analysis
showed significant differences in CVT/EVT angle (p<0.05), maxillary protrusion (p<0.01), mandibular
protrusion (p<0.01), mandibular length (p<0.01), mandibular divergence (p<0.05), and overbite
(p<0.05).