Abstract
Introduction: The etiology of temporomandibular joint disorders is multifactorial. The most frequent symptoms are pain and limited mouth opening.
Nearly half of the population has difficulties with temporomandibular joint, patients suffer from common symptoms as for example pain, but only 15 per cent of these patients seek medical help. Accurate measurement, early diagnosis and classification of disorders of TMK as well as evaluation of available treatment methods, can significantly increase the effect of the therapy.
Methods: The set of 115 patients was created during the study; all of them underwent initial preoperative examination consisting of history, clinical examination, radiographic examination and analysis of joint tracks and cephalometric analysis. Based on the results of the examinations, patients were divided into 7 groups according to the therapy used.
The basic therapy was the conservative one. When the conservative treatment was unsuccessful a surgical therapy was used.
The evaluation focused on these two criteria mainly the presence of pain before and after the therapy and the mouth opening before and after therapy. Results: The results we obtained showed that conservative therapy was successful in 94%.
Only 6% of patients were indicated for surgical treatment. Conclusion: It is known that the TMD are caused by number of factors that could be summarized under the term civilization illness.
Successful treatment is based on early diagnosis, correct classification and suitable treatment.