Bifid mandibular condyles: A systematic review

Bifid mandibular condyle (BMC) constitutes an extremely rare disorder characterized by a duplication of the head of the mandibular condyle. Its prevalence ranges from 0.31% to 1.82% in the published literature. The primary objective was to describe the main etiological, clinical and radiological characteristics of patients with BMCs and the existent treatment options. The secondary objective was to simultaneously include the characteristics of two new cases of BMC. An electronic search in Pubmed (MEDLINE), Scopus and The Cochrane Library was carried out by two independent reviewers until April 2018. Prospective or retrospective cohort studies, case series and case reports describing clinical and/or radiological characteristics of patients with BMC were included. Registered variables were demographic, etiological factors, diagnostic exam, clinical characteristics and treatment options. The results from the articles selected were organized in a Table along with the characteristics of two new cases of BMC provided by the authors. From a total of 431 articles found in the initial search, 68 articles were finally included. This systematic review included 216 patients and 270 BMC with an average age of 30.6 (SD=14.7) years and a women:men ratio of 1.4:1. Mediolateral condylar orientation was the most prevalent position (80.1%). Among cases with known etiology, 40.8% of cases had a history of traumatism, while 55.9% did not present any relevant medical background. Half of the symptomatic cases had history of trauma. The most common symptoms were hypomobility (22.7%), arthralgia (18.1%), articular noise (17.2%) and ankylosis (17.6%). Active monitoring and manufacturing an occlusal splint were the most frequent treatment options. BMC may have congenital or traumatic etiology. Hypomobility and arthralgia are the most frequent symptoms and treatment options are often conservative.