Abstract
Statement of problem. Occlusal adjustment therapy has been advocated as a treatment modality for temporomandibular
disorders. In contrast to this position, a panel at the 1996 National Institute of
Health technology assessment conference on TMD indicated that no clinical trials demonstrate
that occlusal adjustment is superior to noninvasive therapies. Purpose. This article summarizes the published experimental studies on occlusal adjustments
and temporomandibular disorders. Material and methods. Eleven research experiments involving 413 subjects with either bruxism (n = 59),
temporomandibular disorders (n = 219), headaches and temporomandibular disorders (n
= 91), or chronic cervical pain (n = 40) were selected for critical review from the
English dental literature. Results. Three experiments evaluated the relationship between occlusal adjustment and bruxism.
Six experiments evaluated occlusal adjustment therapy as a treatment for patients
with primary temporomandibular disorders. One experiment looked at occlusal adjustment
effect on headache/temporomandibular disorder symptoms; another looked at its effect
on chronic neck pain. Most of these experiments used a mock adjustment or a comparison
treatment as the control condition in adults who had an existing nonacute general
temporomandibular disorder. Overall, the data from these experiments did not demonstrate
elevated therapeutic efficacy for occlusal adjustment over the control or the contrasting
therapy. Conclusion. The experimental evidence reviewed was neither convincing nor powerful enough to
support the performance of occlusal therapy as a general method for treating a nonacute
temporomandibular disorder, bruxism, or headache. (J Prosthet Dent 2001;86:57-66.)
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Article info
Footnotes
☆aAssistant Professor, Department of Removable Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dental Science, Kyushu University.
☆☆bAssistant Professor, Department of Removable Prosthodontics, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University.
★cProfessor and Chairman, Section of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Pain, UCLA School of Dentistry.
★★Reprint requests to: Dr Glenn T. Clark, Section of Oral Medicine and Orofacial Pain, UCLA School of Dentistry, Box 951668, Room 43-009 CHS, 10833 Le Conte Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1668, Fax: (310)206-5539, E-mail: [email protected]
♢J Prosthet Dent 2001;86:57-66.
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Copyright
© 2001 Editorial Council of The Journal of Prosthetic Dentistry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
