Psychological Therapy in the Management of Temporomandibular Disorders: A Systematic Review

Aim: To evaluate the effectiveness of psychological therapy in the management of temperomandibular disorders compared to other treatment modalities. Methodology: Studies were selected according to PICO criteria, considering the RDC/TMD as a reference, improvement of pain and psychological parameters were the primary outcomes. Data search was mainly carried out through electronic search in several renowned databases: PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Google scholar. The publications collected were published between 2010 and 2024. Randomized clinical trials that compared the efficacy of psychological treatment modality with other conservative treatment modalities were screened and evaluated. A total of 5 studies (n = 5) were included, involving 333 participants thus the total sample size is (n = 333). The effects of the interventions and the key findings were analysed. Results: Patients undergoing counseling demonstrated a significant improvement in their OHIP-14 scores during followup. (P < .001) and Patients receiving Biofeedback based Cognitive behavioral therapy (BFB-CBT) showed significantly larger improvements in pain coping skills. But in most of the studies, there were significant improvement in symptoms, but there was no difference between the groups. Conclusion: Psychological factors are strongly associated with temporomandibular dysfunction. Hence a coordinated, multimodal treatment approach, which combines different therapies, has proven to be more effective than using these treatments in isolation, helping patients manage chronic pain more effectively.