The Effectiveness of Ultrasound-Guided Temporomandibular Joint Injection in Reduction of Complications Rate Associated With 50% Hypertonic Prolotherapy: Comparative Study

Hypertonic dextrose prolotherapy acts as a regenerative and proliferative material, efficient in stimulating the healing process in the injured joint and diminishing pain associated with functional movement. Ultrasound-guided injection improves the accuracy of injections and reduces the complication rate. Thus, this clinical research worked to evaluate the benefits of the ultrasound-guided injection of 2 mL 50% dextrose in the management of temporomandibular dysfunction cases and to diminish the complication rate. This clinical trial included 50 patients with temporomandibular joint dysfunction. The participants were allocated into 2 groups (blind injection technique and ultrasound-guided injection technique), each group included 25 patients. All cases were treated with a single injection of 2 mL of regenerative hypertonic dextrose 50% solution. Evaluation of cases was done after 1, 2, and 3 months after injection. In this research, the age group <27 years formed the predominant part of the study 54% (26% in group A versus 28% in group B). Regarding gender, females represented the majority of the sample, accounting for 80% overall (44% in group A versus 36% in group B). The study results showed significant improvement in TMJ pain and mouth opening after a single injection of 50% dextrose in both groups. The results showed a lower complication rate with ultrasound-guided injection compared to the blind injection technique (32% versus 52%) in both groups. In conclusion, ultrasound-guided injection led to more accurate needle insertion, which resulted in a decrease in the complication rate.