Introduction. The prevalence of dysfunctional conditions of the temporomandibular joints (TMJs), especially in persons aged 18-65 years, reached 95-98% among all dental profile applications. The course of the pathology, usually hidden, has periodic relapses and a long-term nature, accompanied by a decrease in the overall quality of life. Treatment of TMJ dysfunction is a complex of complex therapeutic, orthopedic and psychological measures. Many methods of treating TMJ dysfunction are described in literature, one of the modern ones being the use of occlusive splints that allows one to change the position of the lower jaw, diagnose and eliminate TMJ muscle and joint dysfunction. Aim: to determine the effectiveness of the treatment of TMJ muscle and joint dysfunction with occlusive splints based on the analysis of axiography data. Materials and methods. 274 (two hundred and seventy-four) patients aged 18 to 44 years with a diagnosis of TMJ dysfunction were investigated both before and after the treatment. Results and discussion. Prior to the treatment, all patients with signs of TMJ dysfunction showed a violation of the movement trajectory of the lower jaw: deviation – 68.7%, diflexion – 31.3%. When opening and closing the mouth, asymmetric shifts of the lower jaw of more than 2 mm were observed. After the treatment with occlusive splints, the correct trajectory of opening and closing the mouth was observed: the number of patients with a trajectory violation decreased by 89.1%, and the amount of displacement of the lower jaw during opening and closing the mouth in 92.4% of patients decreased, on the average, to 0.9 mm. When analyzing the movements of the lower jaw in the sagittal plane, deviations of the trajectory of the lower jaw were found in 79% of clinical cases. After the treatment using occlusive splints, 93.4% of the cases of mandibular movement trajectory violations in the transversal plane were eliminated, and 78.1% of the patients had a reduction in displacement volume to 0.9 mm. When analyzing the movements of the lower jaw in the sagittal plane, deviations of the trajectory of the lower jaw were found in 79% of the clinical cases. After the treatment using occlusive splints, 93.4% of the cases of mandibular movement trajectory violations in the transversal plane were eliminated, and 78.1% of the patients had a reduction in displacement volume to 0.9 mm. Conclusions. Movement trajectories of the lower jaw in the sagittal plane improved in 80.1% of patients, while normalization of the lower jaw position in relation to the neuromuscular trajectory was achieved in 93.4% of the clinical cases. According to the analysis of the parameters, this treatment should be considered effective.
Keywords:- axiography
- clinical index of dysfunction
- movement trajectories
- musculoskeletal dysfunction
- prosthetic dentistry
- temporomandibular joint (TMJ)