## 3 Materials and Methods
### Extraction Data  
For the study, telecrania of 67 patients (44 female and 23 male) who had undergone low-dose cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) in the orthodontics department of Chieti during their initial visit were selected. Each patient's CBCT was performed with the head oriented according to the natural head position (NHP). The patient was seated with their back as perpendicular to the floor as possible. The head was stabilized using ear rodsplaced in the external auditory meatus. The patient was asked to look into a mirror 1.5 m in front of them to achieve the NHP and to keep their teeth in contact. The NHP is a reproducible and physiologically determined position used for morphological analysis, as described in orthodontic and anthropological literature [9]. After X-ray scanning, the Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) image files were processed using Dolphin Imaging 3D software 11.95 (Dolphin Imaging and Management Solutions, Chatsworth, CA) for storage and interpretation. Establishing a predefined orientation of the patient's head was necessary to obtain predictable and repeatable three-dimensional (3D) analysis [10]. * The cranial image was then oriented according to the NHP in three perpendicular spatial planes:
* The transverse plane coincided with the Frankfurt horizontal plane (FH), passing through two points: Orbitale (Or) and Porion (Po);
* The sagittal plane coincided with the midsagittal plane (MSP), perpendicular to the FH plane and passing through two points: Crista Galli (Cg) and Basion (Ba);
* The coronal plane coincided with the anteroposterior plane (PO), perpendicular to both the FH and MSP planes, passing through the right and left portions. Following head orientation, various 2D virtual radiographs were extracted, including the lateral cephalogram, from which we derived the cephalometric data analysis. Analysis of the Morphological Profiles of Patients with TMDs Through Data from Telecrania and Condylar Sections  
For the study, 26 variables were investigated, of which 24 were cephalometric data derived from linear and angular measurements related to verticality and sagittality concerning bone bases, teeth, and soft tissues; the other 2 variables were age and sex. In Table 1, the average values of the cephalometric data obtained from the cephalometric study of the telecrania are reported. Our study also considered gender as a variable, as previous studies have done. Subsequently, the morphology and position of the condyle of all patients were investigated, taking into account the divergence, thanks to the 3D and 2D sections obtained through the Dolphin software 11.95 from the low-dose cone beam with a wide FOV, which allowed measurements and investigation of anatomical structures at 360\({}^{\circ}\). Measurements of lengths and volumes in different planes are possible with 3D CBCT images, allowing precise diagnoses and predictability of treatment results [11]. The position of the condyle was investigated through measurements made on the 2D sections obtained through the Dolphin software. All measurements of the condyle-fossa relationships were performed on the sagittal section passing through the midpoint of the distance between the medial and lateral poles of the condylar head, and perpendicular to the coronal plane. The images were then formatted and oriented according to the coronal and sagittal planes [12]. The following were calculated: JSA (minimum anterior joint distance), SSP (minimum posterior joint distance), JSS (upper joint space) [Figure 1]. The concentricity of the condyle in the fossa was calculated using the following equation by [PERSON] and [PERSON] [11]:  
\[\text{Linear Ratio (LR)}=\text{(P $-$ A)}/\text{(P $+$ A)}\times 100\]  
where P is the closest posterior measurement and A is the closest anterior measurement. If LR \(<-12\)--posterior position;  
If \(-12<\text{LR $<12$--concentric position;}\)  
If LR \(>12\)--anterior position [13]. The condylar morphology was studied by observing the 3D sections of the cone beam [14].