A 5-Year Follow-up of Temporomandibular Disorder Treatment Emphasizing Condylar Asymmetry (Tmj)
By CRANIO: The Journal of Craniomandibular Practice
- Release Date: 2006-10-01
- Genre: Engineering
Description
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the long-term effect of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) treatment giving priority to oral stability, i.e. creating stability for the mandible in the individual retruded position of the mandible (RPM), focusing condylar asymmetry. Twenty-nine (29) patients treated for TMD participated in the study. A standardized TMD examination was executed originally and an identical examination was performed at the follow-up in a private TMD practice. In general, the patients showed a significant increase of their maximum active mouth opening capacity (p0.01) and a significant decrease of dynamic and static pain at the performed tests (p0.001). Patients initially suffering facial pain showed a significant reduction of their pain with treatment (p0.01). The patients with condylar asymmetry 10%, and who underwent treatment aiming at permanent oral stability, showed the greatest improvement. TMD stands for temporomandibular disorders and seems to be accepted as the collective term of disorders of the temporomandibular joints (TMJ), their motor components and innervation. (1) As TMD pain successfully can be provoked through orthopedic tests (2,3) TMD is classified as a regional musculoskeletal disorder. Regional musculoskeletal disorders are, according to Hadler, (4) local pain conditions not caused by systemic disease. They arise in muscles, periarticular and/or articular tissues as a result of repeated mechanical traumas, often microtraumas. (5)
