Sampaio Neves, Frederico; Ramirez-Sotelo, Laura Ricardina; Queiroz de Freitas, Deborah; Haiter-Neto, Francisco; Bóscolo, Frab Norberto

Summary

The mandibular bifid condyle is a rare condition, frequently observed in routine X-rays, characterized by division of the mandible head. According to the literature, the prevalence varies from 0.018% to 0.3%. Several causes have been suggested to justify the development of bifid mandibular condyle, however there is no agreement between studies about the main causative factor. The aim of this paper is to report a case of mandibular bifid condyle in a 21-years-old girl. The panoramic radiograph showed hypoplasia of the left mandibular condyle, with an apparent presence of calcification in the left temporomandibular joint. Other conventional extraoral radiographs were performed (postero-anterior with fronto-nasal support, open mouth; panoramic and trascranial radiographs), however, only in the cone beam computed tomography ir was possible to obtain the diagnosis of mandibular bifid condyle.

KEY WORDS: mandibular bifid condyle, temporomandibular joint, computed tomography.

How to cite this article

NEVES, F. S.; RAMIREZ-SOTELO, L. R.; FREITAS, D. Q.; HAITER-NETO, F. & BÓSCOLO, F. N. Bífid Mandibular Condyle: a diagnostic challenge. Int. J. Odontostomat., 6(3):327-330, 2012.