Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 13, 2025
Open Peer Review Period: Sep 16, 2025 - Nov 11, 2025
Date Accepted: Dec 27, 2025
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
3D comparative evaluation of condylar morphology between chronic area nut chewers and non-chewers- a study protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Areca nut (AN) is a commonly consumed psychoactive substance, especially in South and Southeast Asia. Chronic chewing of AN has been linked to multiple health problems including temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD). Excessive strain on temporomandibular joint during chronic AN chewing can lead to repetitive injury, resulting in micro and macro trauma to both TMJ and surrounding masticatory structures. Accordingly previous studies reported regarding its long-term impact on TMJ using conventional two-dimensional (2D) imaging. However, the present study aims to perform comparative evaluation of condylar morphology between chronic AN chewers and non-chewers using 3 dimensional imaging
Objective:
To evaluate condylar morphology in chronic AN chewers and non-chewers using 3D imaging and then to compare condylar morphology between chronic AN chewers and non-chewers using 3D imaging
Methods:
This study will include 90 patients which will be divided as Chronic AN chewer-45 and non- chewer 45. Study will be undertaken after obtaining Institutional Ethics committee approval and informed written consent from each patient. Detailed habit history of all the habitual will be recorded. Every patient will be assessed for clinical examination and the radiographic evaluation for condylar morphology. Condylar morphology will be evaluated using CBCT scans in both sagittal and coronal planes. All the findings will be recorded and then analysed for statistical significance.
Results:
It is expected that chronic AN chewer will demonstrate significant condylar morphological alterations compared to non-chewer, as visualized on CBCT. These changes are expected to include structural variations and pathological alterations such as osteophytes, surface flattening, and erosions
Conclusions:
The study aims to overcome the limitations of conventional 2D radiography and provide a more accurate assessment of condylar morphology. The findings are expected to bridge an existing gap in the literature, offering valuable insights on the effects of chronic AN chewing on condylar structure using 3D imaging, and may contribute to improved diagnostic, preventive, and management strategies for TMD. Clinical Trial: Trial registration number is CTRI/2025/06/088238. Registry name is Clinical Trials Registry - India (CTRI) and date of registration is 4/6/2025
Citation
Request queued. Please wait while the file is being generated. It may take some time.
Copyright
© The authors. All rights reserved. This is a privileged document currently under peer-review/community review (or an accepted/rejected manuscript). Authors have provided JMIR Publications with an exclusive license to publish this preprint on it's website for review and ahead-of-print citation purposes only. While the final peer-reviewed paper may be licensed under a cc-by license on publication, at this stage authors and publisher expressively prohibit redistribution of this draft paper other than for review purposes.