Prolotherapy - A venturing Treatment for Temporomandibular Joint Disorder.

ABSTRACT

Prolotherapy, a regenerative injection therapy. Has been used to relieve joint pain and stabilize injured joints. Since the 1930s, this technique is used to strengthen and rejuvenate weak tendons, ligaments and also resolves the joint laxity, as a result patient’s problems with discomfort, pain and loss of function are resolved. Th is is done after identifying the areas of weakness by injecting naturally occurring therapeutic agents which stimulate the healing process by provoking the acute infl ammatory response including the infl ux of stem cells which promote repair of damaged tissues. Th is low grade infl ammatory response is temporary at the site of injection which synthesizes collagen and strengthens the cartilage by promoting fi broblasts. Growth factors are also produced at the site of injection which restarts the healing process that is never completed eff ectively. Th is article reviews the history of prolotherapy and its applications in dentistry.