Volume 15 - Issue 3

In many cases of musculoskeletal pain, the source of the pain is still elusive as indicated by the number of acceptable, but different types of treatments that are available. Within the musculoskeletal system, the tendino-periosteal attachment of the muscles (enthesis) appears to be an area that is especially susceptible to injury as a result of trauma. Because it is a ...

The lateral pterygoid muscle plays an important role in the movement of the mandible and has been studied from several points of view, including structural and functional anatomy. What matters clinically is the relative position of the muscle fibers attached medially to the mandibular condyle. In the following study, we observed not only the attachment of the lateral pterygoid muscle fibers to the articular disk, but also the relative position of the mandibular condyle to ...

Orthodontic models hand-articulated into maximum intercuspation of 720 untreated subjects were evaluated by 17 criteria for grading an ideal anatomic occlusion including good dental interdigitation and alignments. Of the 720 subjects screened, the best 17 subjects were divided into three groups that contained 11 near ideal occlusions scored with 92-98%, three lower evaluated occlusions scored with 86-88% and three near ideal occlusions with TM signs or symptoms scored with 90-94%. Border and chewing movements were ...

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the increase in the occlusal vertical dimension by means of an orthodontic appliance on craniocervical relationships and position of the cervical spine. Thirty children presenting malocclusion were divided into two groups of 15 (a study and a control group). Those in the study group wore an orthodontic appliance to correct cross-bite. The children in the control group had no treatment during the experimental period ...

Ninety-one patients with unilateral temporomandibular disorders (TMD) were examined using submento-vertex projection radiography and lateral and frontal temporomandibular joint (TMJ) tomography. A comparison between clinical and radiographic findings was made to verify whether patients with TMJ osteoarthritis/osteoarthrosis (OA) tend to have high horizontal condylar angles and to determine the clinical significance of the horizontal condylar angle in the diagnosis of TMD. Our survey results did not confirm higher horizontal condylar angles in condyles with ...

A certain number of patients with elongated styloid process may not have the classic cervicofacial complaints which were originally described by W. Eagle in 1937. Some of those cases who have radiologic evidence of elongated styloid process are symptom free and can be accepted as normal anatomical variants. On the other hand, some of those symptomatic cases may present uncommon neurologic signs and can be misdiagnosed as neurologic or infectious disease. Sometimes, the radiologic presence ...

Because a so-called mandibular whiplash injury requires the absence of short-latency jaw-closing reflexes in order to explain the postulated mechanism of injury (excessive jaw opening), the authors studied the presence and absence and, more importantly, the kinematics (duration, displacement, velocity, acceleration) of monosynaptic and, possibly, polysynaptic myotatic (stretch) reflexes in the jaw elevator muscles. In six healthy adults jaw jerk maneuvers were elicited through a brisk tap on the chin, and surface electromyography identified elevator ...

Most well-accepted etiological models of facial pain (e.g., temporomandibular disorders and headache ) implicate emotional distress as an important factor in the development and maintenance of pain. Data exists to support the notion that some facial pain sufferers are more emotionally distressed than no pain controls. However, many of these dependent measures of emotional distress are either lengthy assessment batteries, lack clear cut psychotherapeutic treatment implications, or focus exclusively on pain related sequela. As cognitive-behavioral ...

An unusual case of temporomandibular disorder in the presence of both fibromyalgia and Ehlers-Danlos syndrome is presented. Some of the problems in treating these patients are discussed. It is suggested that early conservative treatment of the temporomandibular disorder with a stabilization splint and physical therapy is effective, and this approach should be attempted before any surgical intervention is chosen.