• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.48 no.4
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• pp.152-158
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• 2023

Purpose: This pilot study aimed to evaluate changes in joint space (JS) using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of patients diagnosed with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis (OA) and to determine the association between occlusal changes and JS. Methods: CBCT images were used to measure the anterior, superior, and posterior JSs of the sagittal plane. The differences in JS values over time and between groups were compared. The percentage change in the anteroposterior position of the mandibular condyle between groups was also analyzed. Results: Thirty-four subjects (mean age=43.91±20.13), comprising eight males (23.5%) and 26 females (76.5%), were divided into 18 patients with no change in occlusion (NCO) and 16 patients with a change in occlusion (CO) during TMJ OA. The JS measurements of the study subjects showed a decrease in anterior joint space (AJS) values over time. There was no difference in JS measurements between the groups at T1 and T2. AJS values measured at T1 were lower in the CO group than in the NCO group, but the difference was not statistically significant. In both groups, a posterior position of the mandibular condyle was initially observed with high frequency. However, there is a statistically significant difference in CBCT images taken after occlusal changes, with an increased frequency of condyles observed in the anterior or central positions. Conclusions: In conclusion, AJS decreased over time in TMJ OA, and the mandibular condyle became more anteriorly positioned with occlusal changes. Therefore, clinicians should diligently monitor mandibular condyle morphology and JS using CBCT, along with the patient's clinical symptoms, to treat and control TMJ OA effectively.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.227-239
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• 2007

To evaluate the treatment outcome after conservative treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the TMJ(OA), the subjects were chosen among the patients who presented to the Department of Oral Medicine of Pusan National University Hospital, diagnosed as osteoarthritis of the TMJ, and treated with conservative methods from 1994 to 2006. 101 patients with diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the TMJ were selected as the experimental group and 74 patients with diagnosis of masticatory muscle disorders(MMD) were selected as the control group. Subjective symptoms and clinical findings were investigated to evaluate and compare the subject's status at the first and the last visit. The results were as follows : 1. In the OA group, satisfactory treatment outcome was obtained with conservative methods. But, at the last visit, the symptoms of the OA group were not improved enough compared with those of the MMD group. 2. In the OA group, radiographic findings of panorama view and transcranial projection were positive by about 60 percent. But, computed tomography and single photon emission computed tomography were positive by more than 90 percent. 3. At the last visit of the OA group, the joint noise was reduced significantly. 4. In the majority of the OA group, satisfactory treatment outcome was obtained with conservative methods such as medication, physical therapy, and occlusal stabilization appliance. In the majority of the MMD group, satisfactory outcome was obtained with medication and physical therapy. 5. It took the OA group from 6 months to 2 years to be cured well while the MMD group within 6 months.6. The OA group needed more than 10 times' treatment for satisfactory outcome while the MMD group needed less than 10 times' treatment.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.103-113
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• 1996

The author examined the clinical signs and symptoms , routine radiographs, laboratory test and bone scan in 73 subjects with TMJ disorders and studied the responses of clinical test on patients, the distribution of signs and symptoms of joints, the simple uptake rate(SUR) of affected joints , the SUR of subclassified groups of TMJ disorders, active joints of subclassified groups of TMJ disorders and the SUR of joints with noises. The obtained results were as follows : 1. The percentage of joint pain on palpation, joint noises joint pain on function, mandibular dysfunction and active finding of bone scan in aptients with TMJ disorders were higher 2. The SUR was higher in joints affected by joint pain on function, joint pain on palpation, mandibular dysfunction and creptius. 3. The SUR of osteoarthrosis was the lowest. 4. The percentage of active joints were the highest in joints with discdisplacement without reduction, and followed by osteoarthritis, and disc displacement with reduction. 5. The SUR of TMJ showing joint noises only was lower.

• Journal of TMJ Balancing Medicine
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.27-31
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• 2023

The purpose of this case report is to introduce a case of immediate results with TMJ balancing therapy (TBT) in the treatment of chronic patellofemoral pain (PFP). A 17-year-old female patient with 4-month-old chronic knee pain that was unresponsive to conventional treatment was treated with TBT for a total of 5 sessions. The primary outcomes were evaluated using the Numeric Rating Scale (NRS) and the Korean version of the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (KWOMAC). Following the first treatment, the NRS decreased rapidly, and the KWOMAC improved after a total of five treatments. These findings suggest that TBT can be an effective pain management option for chronic PFP patients with temporomandibular joint malposition. However, as this study is a report of a single case, further research is necessary.

• Imaging Science in Dentistry
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• v.42 no.4
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• pp.249-253
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• 2012

Purpose: Diagnosis of osteoarthritis most commonly depends on clinical and radiographic findings. The present study attempted to observe the bony changes in temporomandibular joint (TMJ) patients from all age groups. Materials and Methods: The first-visit clinical records and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) data of 440 TMJs from 220 consecutive TMJ patients were reviewed retrospectively. Results: The most frequent condylar bony change observed was sclerosis (133 joints, 30.2%) followed by surface erosion (129 joints, 29.3%), flattening of the articular surface (112 joints, 25.5%), and deviation in form (58 joints, 13.2%), which included 33 TMJs in a cane-shape, 16 with a lateral or medial pole depression, 6 with posterior condylar surface flattening, and 3 with a bifid-shaped condyle. Fifty-three joints (12.0%) showed hypoplastic condyles but only 1 joint showed hyperplasia. Osteophyte was found in 35 joints (8.0%) and subcortical cyst in 24 joints (5.5%), 5 of which had surface erosion as well. One hundred nineteen joints (27.0%) had only one kind of condylar bony change, 66 joints (15.0%) had two, 52 joints (11.8%) had three, 12 joints (5.0%) had four, and 6 joints (1.4%) had five kinds of condylar bony changes at the same time. Eighty-five (65.9%) of 129 joints with surface erosion had pain recorded at the chief complaint. Conclusion: With more widespread use of CBCT, more specific or detailed guidelines for osteoarthritis are needed.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.38 no.1
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• pp.87-95
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• 2013

Osteoarthritis (OA) of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a severe form of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs), presenting gradual breakdown of articular cartilage and subchondral bone by the functional load sustained to exceed the physiologic tolerance of the joint. In such a joint loaded, offensive bioactive materials such as matrix degrading proteins, cytokines, and free radicals increase in concentration to shift the tissue response in the joint to degeneration from regeneration or remodeling. Recently, it has been issued that obesity can play an offensive role in pathogenesis of OA in a metabolic way. Adipokines released by adipose cells are present at higher concentration in the arthritic joint and joints of obese individuals. However, because of conflicting data reported, further scientific study should be performed to elucidate the practical role of adipokines in pathogenesis of TMJ OA. As far as the clinical signs and symptoms of TMJ OA are not much different from those of other forms of TMD and any definitive treatment modality to control directly the bone resorptive activity is not available yet, the treatment of TMJ OA should be directed to reduce the physical load and enhance the physiologic tolerance of the joint by means of conservative treatment such as physical therapy, medication, and occlusal splint therapy for sufficient period and, if needed after that, supplementary surgical procedure such as intra-articular injection, arthrocenthesis, and arthroscopic surgery that have turned out to be effective to control OA signs and symtpoms. Enthusiastic reassurance and motivation for patients to control behaviors for themselves to reduce unnecessary functional load in daily life is very important for the joint to reach to more favorable orthopedic stability of the TMJ more quickly, guaranteeing more successful management TMJ OA.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.42 no.2
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• pp.35-43
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• 2017

Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the correlation between joint sounds and radiographic bone change patterns along with clinical symptoms of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) patients. Methods: The patients for this study were over 19 years of age, diagnosed tentatively with TMJ OA. The patients were examined with temporomandibular disorders analysis test and all three radiographs, including panoramic radiography, transcranial radiography, and cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Information of the patients' age, pain status, joint sound and mouth opening range were collected. And bone change pattern was examined by reviewing panoramic radiography, transcranial radiography and CBCT images. Results: The patients with crepitus had a higher average active mouth opening (AMO) range than patients without crepitus, and the group with bilateral crepitus had a higher average AMO range than the group with unilateral crepitus (p<0.001). And the patient with pain during mastication was increased in the group with clicking than the group without clicking, and the group with bilateral clicking showed a statistically significant increase in the patient with pain during mastication than the group with unilateral clicking (p<0.05). The analytical results of the relevance of crepitus showed a high correlation with bone change observed from each of the three radiographs. And the agreement in bone change findings from 3 groups of paired radiographs showed high agreement (p<0.001). Meanwhile, 77.2% of CBCT findings showed bone change of condyle without crepitus (p<0.001). Conclusions: This study presented significant results in the evaluation of the correlation with crepitus and bone change of TMJ OA patients from panoramic radiography or transcranial projection. However, the accurate assessment is required through CBCT for the patient with complains of persistent pain, limitation of mouth opening, and occlusal change even if the crepitus does not exist.

• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.44 no.2
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• pp.45-53
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• 2019

Purpose: To determine whether crepitus may be a clinical indication for early temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis (OA) and to investigate the correlation between crepitus and the occurrence of TMJ OA with respect to factors, such as patient sex, age, chewing habits, and diagnosis. Methods: This is retrospective analysis of clinical data for 162 TMJs. The criteria for a joint to be included in this study was a minimum of two cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans performed with no OA observed during the initial scan. The Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders was used for OA diagnosis. Crepitus was recorded when it was objectively palpated during the follow-up period. Correlations between various patient factors and progression to TMJ OA were calculated using the Pearson's chi-square test. A linear-by-linear association was used to analyze trends of OA progression with increasing age. Results: Among the 162 joints, 101 progressed to OA and 61 did not. In the joints where crepitus had been present before OA was confirmed at next or last CBCT, OA progressed at a high rate, and especially higher in female and older patients (p<0.01). Patients in the pain-related disorder group with crepitus were observed to have higher rates of OA progression compared to patients in the intra-articular disorder group (p<0.01). Conclusions: If a patient experiences pain in the TMJs and crepitus, close monitoring through regular CBCT scans is necessary even if there is no evidence of radiologically confirmed OA after the first CBCT.

• Journal of the Korean Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons
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• v.32 no.5
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• pp.453-457
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• 2006

This study was designed to investigate the effect of intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid for the treatment of internal derangements of the temporomandibular joint(TMJ). Sixteen patients with internal derangements of TMJ in 1 male and 15 females aged 68 to 18 years comprised the study material. The patients' complaint was limited mouth opening and pain during function. Patients were divided into 3 groups(articular disc displacement with reduction, articular disc displacement without reduction, osteoarthritis group). The preauricular area was disinfected anesthetized locally with 2% lidocaine hydrochloride. Arthrocentesis was performed. Hyaluronic acid(1.5 ㏄) was then injected into the superior compartment of the TMJ. Active range of motion exercises were instituted at approximately 24 hours postoperatively. Antibiotics and NSAID, three times daily by mouth, was prescribed for 3 days. Clinical evaluation of the patients was done before the procedure, immediately after the procedure, final follow-up visit postoperatively. Pain during function was assessed using visual analog scales(VAS). Maximal mouth opening was recorded as a distance between upper incisal edge and lower incisal edge. Intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid caused significant reduction of pain during function, significant increase of maximal opening range. These findings suggest that intra-articular injection of hyaluronic acid is useful for decreasing patient reports of pain while increasing functional mobility of the mandible in internal derangements of the TMJ.

• Journal of Korean Physical Therapy Science
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• v.5 no.4
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• pp.717-728
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• 1998

The Temporomandibural joint(TMJ) is one of the most frequently used joint in the body as $1,500{\sim}2,000$ times per day for the activities of chewing, swallowing, talking, yawing and sneezing. The TMJ are formed by condylar process of mandible and mandible fossa of temporal bone, separated by an articular disc. This articular disc divides into two cavities as upper cavity and lower cavity. The gliding movement occurs in the upper cavity of the joint, whereas hinge movement occurs in the lower cavity. The movements that are allowed at the TMJ are opening, closing, protrusion, retraction and lateral movement. A cause of TMJ dysfunction are capsulitis, internal derangement, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, infection and inflammation near the joint, trauma on joint, ankylosis, subluxation or dislocation of joint, injury of articular disc, myositis, muscle contracture or spasm, myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome, dyskinesia of masticatory muscles, developmental abnormality, tumor, connective tissue disease, fibrosis, malocclusion, swallowing abnormality, wrong habits such as bite nail or hair, bruxism, psycological stress and Costen syndrome etc. Assessment of TMJ dysfunction consist of interview, observation, functional examination, palpation, reflex test, joint play test, electromyography and radiologic examination and behavioral and psycological assessment etc.