Osteopathy treatment of temporomandibular joint dysfunction in young teens

Introduction andObjective.Pain symptoms of the temporomandibular joint constitute a challenge for clinicians as well as patients having to cope with this issue.Presently, there are no clear cut factors that could cause TMD in children and youths.The differentiation of the diagnostic significance of symptoms of TMD constitutes an ever greater challenge in dental and orthodontic treatment.The manual procedure used in the treatment of diseases of the musculoskeletal systems, as well as in temporomandibular diseases (TMD), seems to be promising, although at present there is no high-quality proof that would indicate the efficacy of this therapy.Materials and Methods.30 young teens transferred to osteopathic specialists due to pain diseases of the TMJ, and subjected to treatment using osteopathic therapy.Assessment of symptoms related to the TMJ was by the TMJ Symptom intensity scale (SIS) and the TMJ Symptom Frequncy Scale (SFS), constituting modifications of the Steigerwald/ Maher questionnaire.Results.Statistically significant improvement was found in the most severe cases (p=0.0032) and usual (p=0.0007)jaw pain.Improvements were also found for painful jaw clicking (most severe p=0.0076 and usual p=0.0220).The intensity of the jawlocking symptom on a daily basis was the same, but the greatest intensity of locking decreased (p=0.0077).A beneficial effect was found for osteopathic intervention on jaw pain (p=0.0207),painful jaw clicking (p=0.0011) and headaches (p=0.0122).Conclusions.1) Osteopathic therapy positively influences the reduction of pain in the TMJ in children aged 12-14 years.2) Osteopathic techniques positively influence the reduction of occurring pain symptoms of the head in TMD.