Elongated styloid process evaluation on digital panoramic radiograph in a North Italian population

Abstract

BackgroundThe aim of this study is to evaluate the prevalence of elongated styloid process in digital panoramic radiographs in a North Italian population in relation to age, gender and side.Material and MethodsThis study was performed as a retrospective analysis on digital panoramic radiographs of 600 (271 males and 329 females) Italian patients between 6 and 87 years old. The styloid process length were measured using the measuring tool of Sidexis Software. It was measured from the point where it left the temporal bone plate to its tip. Styloid processes measuring more than 30 mm were considered elongated. Chi-squared and Fisher tests were used and the test is considered significant if the p-value is lower or equal to 0.05.ResultsThirty-three per cent of the patients showed an elongated styloid process. Seventeen per cent were elongated on both right and left side, fifteen point nine per cent were elongated only in one side.ConclusionsThe prevalence of elongated styloid process was high and a progressive increase of the elongation prevalence was found in older groups. Key words:Elongated styloid process, Eagle’s syndrome, panoramic radiograph.

Relationship Between Styloid Process Size and the Skeletal Craniofacial Pattern: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Since this clinical situation can be associated with pain, it should be considered when a differential diagnosis is made. According to the majority of research, the prevalence of elongation increases in older individuals [10][11][12]. This phenomenon could be caused by degeneration of the ligamentous complex, and a generalized tendency for deposition of calcium salts, related with age [5].…”

“…The panoramic radiograph is a valuable and reliable tool for the styloid process length analysis, not only in qualitative but also in a quantitative way [13,23]. Additionally, it is considered a routine exam taken in almost every dental practice, as it is easy to collect; it eliminates the styloid process overlapping issue that frequently occurs in cephalograms and it has a much lower radiation dose and lower cost than CT or CBCT, which are considered the gold standard for diagnosis of the elongated styloid process [6,12,23]. The demographic data in the present research was similar to those reported in previous articles; women seek orthodontic treatment more frequently than men, and most patients have skeletal class I and a mesofacial pattern [26][27][28].…”

“…Although there is no consensus regarding the presence of elongated styloid process and the affected side, most patients have unilateral complaints [3,[9][10][11][12]. Since the etiology of the elongation is not clear, a reason was not suggested for these results [12].…”

“…This sexual dimorphism is probably due to the higher stature of males in comparison to females [30]. The gender distribution is controversial in the literature: some authors found a higher prevalence of elongation in males, others found it in females and others found no significant differences [8][9][10][11][12][13]29]. This variation is suggestive that gender might be an irrelevant aspect in the etiology of styloid process elongation.…”

“…Mineralization of the stylohyoid process or stylohyoidstylomandibular ligament complex is a quite common anatomical finding [8]. Its prevalence is highly variable, due to true differences in the populations, or differences in the measurements criteria [6,[8][9][10][11][12][13]. Studies based on analysis of panoramic radiographs in various populations have shown a prevalence of 1% to 84.4% [6,[8][9][10][11][12][13].…”