Prevalence of Stylohyoid Complex Elongation among Patients Attending RAK College of Dental Sciences Clinic

OBJECTIVE: To investigate into the prevalence of the SP complex elongation among patients attending RAK Dental College Clinic. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A 3234 radiographic images of patients aged ≥18 years were examined. The O’Carroll (1984) classification of stylohyoid complex was used. Age, gender, ethnicity and patterns of calcification were recorded and analyzed. Chi-squared and ANOVA tests were used to detect potential differences. RESULTS: Male to female ratio was 1.9:1. There were 1150 (35.6%) subjects in age group-I (18-39) and 2084 (64.4%) subjects in the age group-II (≥40). The mean age was 38.12 (±13.2). Fifty seven % (1836) of the subjects were eastern Asians, 671 (21%) Africans, 325 (10%) Middle east, 254 (8%) Europe, and 148 (4%) other ethnicities. A normal SP was found in 1601 (49.51%) of the images, elongated in 903 (27.92%), calcified in 406 (12.55) and undetected in 324 (10.2%). The elongated and the calcified styloid processes were more common in males (p=0.0078). The elongated and the calcified SP were more frequent in group II subjects (p=0.0004). Eastern Asians had higher percentage of elongated and calcified SP p= 0.00567. CONCLUSION: Although 1601 (49.51%) of subjects had normal SP, the study revealed a high prevalence of SP elongation among eastern Asians. There is a strong association between the age and the SP elongation. It is crucial to include the head and neck symptoms of non-odontogenic origin in the differential diagnosis of Eagle’s syndrome. The study recommends further investigation using some advanced imaging techniques.