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Restoration of chewing ability is an important aspect of the treatment for temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). However, too little attention has been paid to it. We have used a questionnaire to evaluate and score the chewing ability of TMD patients. The questionnaire includes 19 kinds of food and a chewing task. The patient was asked if she/he experiences difficulty in enjoying eating. The aim of this study was to evaluate correlations between score of chewing ability (SCA) and other symptoms/signs of TMD. Four hundred and seventy-three consecutive TMD patients were evaluated for SCA and other symptoms/signs including temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain, TMJ and muscle tenderness, TMJ noise (clicking and crepitus), and maximum mouth opening. The relationship between SCA and other symptoms/signs were analysed by multiple regression analysis. Score of chewing ability correlated significantly with TMJ pain and mouth opening capacity but not with TMJ noise and muscle tenderness. Age was a background factor but sex was not. The result of this study suggests that SCA correlated with dysfunction of the TMD patients. This method could be used to evaluate the ability of chewing in assessment of TMD.

The purpose of this study was to analyse the factors which influenced the success of disc recapture by the insertion of a disc repositioning appliance. Fifty-one joints with joint clicking that occurred at both middle to late opening and late closing (near maximum cuspation) of the mandible were splinted with a mandibular full-coverage repositioning appliance. The clinical and MR findings were compared between the joints with successful and unsuccessful splint disc capture. Thirty-two clicking joints with reducibly displaced discs (DDWR) had successful disc recapture, while six of 19 joints with displaced disc without reduction (DDWOR). Unsuccessful joints with DDWOR had significantly higher prevalence of deformed disc and joint effusion, higher VAS quantitative pain score, and severe disc displacement especially in medial part of the joint (P < 0.05). From the results of this study joints with DDWR can be expected to have successful disc recapture with the insertion of the appliance. In joints with DDWOR, presence of inflammatory conditions, changed disc morphology and extensive disc displacement in medial part of the joint are negative factors.

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