The prevalence of temporomandibular joint disturbances in complete denture patients.

Abstract

Summary‘Complete denture patients do not suffer from TMJ disturbances’ is a statement commonly accepted by many dentists and clinicians. This statement is not valid since few dentists include a TMJ examination among routine clinical procedures for complete denture patients. Identification of an edentulous patient with TMJ disturbances is not possible with just a visual examination or the use of a TMJ questionnaire.The purpose of this investigation was to examine a group of 160 complete denture patients and determine the prevalence of TMJ disturbances among this sample of former and current patients at the University of Washington. The study included a TMJ questionnaire of eighteen questions to test its usefulness in identifying TMJ patients among the sample. All data from the clinical examination were programmed, punched, and processed on a CDC 6400 computer and correlated to selected dependent variables of the questionnaire.The conclusions from this investigation revealed:(1) Approximately 15% of the complete denture patients in this sample had TMJ disturbances.(2) The use of this questionnaire was not very reliable as a primary method of identifying TMJ patients, but it could be useful in screening potential TMJ patients.(3) Routine examination of complete denture patients should include palpation of the head and neck, and TMJ.(4) Complete denture patients have TMJ disturbances characterized by muscle tenderness, joint sounds, or restricted movements. They may not necessarily be associated with pain.(5) The lateral pterygoid muscle is the most common muscle involved with TMJ disturbances in complete denture patients.