ABSTRACT
This paper provides a method to evaluate the extent of permanent injury to the temporomandibular joint. The authors, working as the Committee on Permanent Impairment for the American Academy of Head, Facial, Neck Pain and TMJ Orthopedics, have used the same values as the American Medical Association has used in their Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment for other disk-protected and functional joints. These Guides may then serve as a tool to help physicians and dentists who treat temporomandibular joint injuries to rate the degree of permanent injury. These Guides may be combined with other areas of impairment that are already described and valued in the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment published by the AMA. These Guides provide a range and each injury should be evaluated on an individual basis. We urge you to use these Guides conservatively and in harmony with good clinical judgement.
