• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
• /
• v.23 no.4
• /
• pp.379-385
• /
• 1998

A patient with TMJ osteoarthritis and anterior open bite was treated with an intermaxillary traction device. Pretreatment examination revelaed a pain in both TMJ during mouth opening, moderate tendernesso f left sternocleidomastoid and right trapezius muscles. Anterior open Bite was aobserved with interincisal distance of 2mm. Tomograms and MRI showed anterior disc displacement withouit reductoin of both temporomandibular joints, and the condyles were flattened and slightly eroded. A pair of full-coverage occlusal appliances was made on both maxillary and mandibular dentition, with pivoting fulcrum on the site of the second moalr. Traction force was gained by the intermaxillary orthodontic elastics which were hooked by orthodontic brackets on the labial surfaces of the upper and lower anterior and premolar teeth. After 8 weeks of traction treatment, the joint pain was subsided completely and the anterior open bite was closed to get an edge to edge relationship of anterior teeth.