Pediatric Condyles Resorbed Then Rebuilt Bone After Conservative Fracture Care

Edited by Dentaltown staff

Condylar volume in children treated without surgery for sagittal condylar fractures fell over the first three months and then rose significantly between six months and one year, according to a study published Aug. 13 in Clinical Oral Investigations.

Researchers at Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology reviewed 28 children with 43 affected joints. All were managed conservatively with full-arch soft occlusal splints and adjunctive mouth-opening exercises.

The team built three-dimensional models from computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging obtained before treatment and again at three, six, and 12 months, applying multimodal image registration to fuse the CT and MRI datasets so bone and disc could be assessed together.

Condylar volume decreased significantly from before treatment to three months, at P = .009. It held steady between three and six months, at P = .977, then increased significantly from six months to one year, at P = .009.

Where the new bone formed was the more specific finding. Bone formation occurred predominantly in regions covered by the articular disc, and root mean square values differed significantly between disc-covered and non-disc-covered areas, at P = .024.

The authors concluded that condylar remodeling after conservative treatment is highly active, marked by early resorption followed by delayed bone formation, and that the temporomandibular joint disc plays a critical role in the process. They wrote that strategies aimed at functional rehabilitation and disc preservation matter to long-term remodeling outcomes.

Mingyan Li and Meng Liu contributed equally to the work, with Shuo Chen and Yang He. The study was approved by the institution’s biomedical ethics review committee.

The analysis was retrospective, drew on 28 patients at a single institution, and followed only sagittal fractures across 12 months, so the pattern it describes may not extend to other condylar fracture types or to longer intervals.

Sources:
Clinical Oral Investigations, “Three-dimensional spatiotemporal analysis of condylar remodeling after conservative treatment of pediatric mandibular condylar sagittal fractures,” published online Aug. 13, 2026: link.springer.com/10.1007/s00784-026-07079-0
PubMed, PMID 42587113: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/42587113