Some Aspects of the Etiology, Prevalence and Diagnosis of the Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction (A Review)

Abstract

Background.Temporomandibular joint diseases (TMJ) occupy a special place among dental diseases due to the complexity of the clinical picture which often depends on within the professional competence of doctors of various specialties - otolaryngologists, neurologists, psychiatrists, rheumatologists, diseases whose complicate diagnosis and treatment. Painful TMJ dysfunction is a common disease that leads the patient to the dentist.
 Aim: to analyze modern publications devoted to the problem of pain dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint in terms of causes and diagnostic methods related to practical dentistry.
 Materials and methods. An analysis of data obtained during an information search in the online databases "PubMed", "SciELO", "Medcape" and "Science of Ukraine: access to knowledge" and official web-sites of Ukrainian education and scientific institutions was carried out using the keywords "pain dysfunction", "Costen's syndrome", "musculofascial syndrome", "temporomandibular joint".
 Results. Today, TMJ dysfunction is an unsolved problem of practical dentistry which has a significant number of points of contact with other specialties. The pain and psycho-emotional component of this disease can be a significant problem for the patient and negatively affect his quality of life. The complex etio-pathogenesis of TMJ dysfunction and confusing classification of conditions leads to frequent assumptions of diagnostic and treatment mistakes of dentists and other specialists. Today, further development and improvement of diagnosis and treatment methods of patients with TMJ dysfunction, including the development and modification of diagnostic protocols and expanding indications for the use of modern highly informative diagnostic methods. Quite often the rehabilitation of such a patient requires a team approach and may last for years.
 Conclusion. The organization of diagnosis, treatment and follow-up of patients with painful TMJ dysfunction needs further improvement and research.