Volume 16 - Issue 2

This study examines the effect of psychological dysfunction as an etiological factor in temporomandibular disorder (TMD). It employs a thoroughly validated psychometric measurement system, the TMJ Scale (Pain Resource Center, Inc., Durham, North Carolina), to determine the effects of pretreatment stress and psychological dysfunction upon presenting symptom levels. The study also addresses these parameters for the eventual treatment outcome. During the course of this study, 2,074 patients were evaluated. Seven hundred and fifty- four ...

To test the hypothesis that the pain-producing effect of parafunctional clenching is mediated by oral contraceptive use and estrogen levels, eight premenopausal women participated in daily (five days/week) 20-minute-long EMG biofeedback training sessions (on the left and right temporalis and masseter muscles) structured as a two-phase cross-over study. Four subjects used oral contraceptives, and four did not. Subjects were ...

This study evaluated the accuracy of the clinical diagnosis of patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction symptoms compared to a group of asymptomatic volunteers. The clinical examination and history questionnaire used during the evaluation of TMD patients were less accurate evaluating asymptomatic subjects than when combined with computerized joint vibration analysis. “True normal” control subjects were rarely found when these diagnostic modalities were combined in the TMD examination process. Most of the asymptomatic subjects had ...

This study was conducted in order to determine the effects of body position on integrated electromyographic (IEMG) activity of sternocleidomastoid and masseter muscles in 20 healthy subjects. EMG recordings at rest and during swallowing of saliva and maximal voluntary clenching were performed by placing surface electrodes on the sternocleidomastoid and masseter muscles (contralateral to the habitual side of sleeping of ...

A study was performed to evaluate relationships between mandible position, dynamics, muscle activity and head posture while swallowing by use of surface EMG and mandible kinesiograph on two population groups (118 pathologics and 31 controls). The study produced the following: 1. specific mandible dynamics with a very fast rising phase (0.3 sec) and longer phase of stabilization (1.5 sec); 2. more than 60% of the subjects presented deglutition at occlusion level, the others ...

The purpose of this study is to show the effects of dental occlusion on visual focusing. Thirty subjects were divided into two groups: an experimental group who had worn mandibular orthopedic repositioning appliances and a control group who had not worn any oral device. All of the subjects underwent the same visual focusing tests with a Maddox rod and the Berens prismatic bars, from over five meters to 30 centimeters. The results seemed to confirm ...

It is generally recognized that psychological factors play an important role in chronic orofacial pain patients. This study analysed psychological profiles of chronic pain patients affected with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), by means of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) test. Fifty consecutive TMD patients were examined and were then divided into two subgroups: l. myofascial pain and 2. temporomandibular joint articular disorders. Sixty-two percent of the whole sample presented pathological MMPI scores. Both subgroups presented ...

The authors analyzed, through a review of the literature, Eagle’s Syndrome which is a complex entity which presents common symptoms varying from an aching sensation in the throat to dysphagia and pain when rotating the head. Diagnosis and treatment are the main topics discussed relative to this abnormality which involves the styloid/stylohyoid complex. A case report is presented of a woman, aged 52, who submitted to surgical treatment using an extraoral approach for ...