Efficcacy of physiotherapy and intraoral splint in the management of temporomandibular disorders

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of two physiotherapy modalities of treatment [TENS and US] with intraoral stabilization splints in the management of TMD patients. A sample of 57 patients [9 male and 48 female] in the age range of 16-52 years, with confirmed TMD diagnosis were chosen in a systematic random basis [2 cases/week]. Patients were allocated randomly into two main groups, a physiotherapy group and intraoral stabilization splint group. The physiotherapy group was further divided randomly into two subgroups. The first received TENS treatment and the second one received "US" treatment. The patient on Visual Analogue scale [VAS] did a rating of pain. A significant decline in pain scores [P<0.05] was observed in both physiotherapy and intraoral stabilization splint TMD groups from the first to the last fourth visit. However, no significant difference [P<0.05] was observed between the use of physiotherapy and intraoral stabilization splint in the treatment of TMD. Ultrasound therapy in this study was found to be more effective in the treatment of TMD compared to TENS therapy

abridged psychological self-rating questionnaire for screening of patients with temporomandibular disorders

An Abridged Psychological Self-rating Questionnaire [APSQ] was taken from the Middlesex Hospital Scale and adapted to the Al-Ahsa colloquial Arabic language. The aim was to develop a simple yet valid screening tool for early detection of temporomandibular disorder [TMD] patients with psychological problems. It Is well known that a considerable number of TMD patients are psychologically dysfunctional and have higher rates of anxiety, depression, and health care utilization. This case-control study was done on a, systemic random sample of 72 TMD Saudi patients. All subjects were blindly rated on the APSQ during dental assessment, and each followed by a clinical psychiatric assessment consisting of a history and a systemic mental state examination. A cut-off point ranging from 11 to 13 was found acceptable In Identifying positive subjects. The best cut-off point was found to be at 12. When using the recommended cut-off point, approximately 15.3% of the subjects were Identified by the APSQ form as psychiatric patients as compared to 38.9% being Identified by the clinical psychiatric assessment. The sensitivity ranged from 727 to 90.48% and specificity ranged from 83.87 to 89.7%. The commonest psychiatric disorder among the subjects was a mixed anxiety-depression disorder. The APSQ was found to be of good validity, thus supporting its usefulness as a screening tool for detecting psychiatric morbidity among TMD patients in the Al-Ahsa area

Temporomandibular disorders in Al-Ahsa province, KSA: an epidemiologic study

This one-year epidemiological study was designed to investigate TMD, among dental patients attending King Fahad Hospital, Hofuf. it is a retrospective case-control study of 72 Saudi TMD patients cross matched with 72 control subjects. The latter were randomly selected, interviewed and examined in the dental department. Subjects were assessed separately both by a dental specialist and a psychiatrist. Data were collected on a predesigned form, and was statistically analyzed using an Epi-lnfo6.TMD cases among the attendants at the dental department were 4.8%. No significant associations [P>0.05] were found between socio-economic factors and the distribution of TMD cases. The mean opening extent of the mouth in the TMD patients was significantly lower than that in the controls [P<0.001]. The study also showed that psychological problems were more prevalent among TMD patients. Anxiety-depression was 50% of the psychiatric disorders, while depression constituted 32.1%.This study also showed that patients with psychiatric problems were prone to TMD 4.5 times greater than those without and vice-versa. A liaison psychiatrist should be considered for TMD management. A simplified and valid psychiatric screening test is recommended to help dentists detect those TMD cases in need of psychiatric consultation