• Journal of Oral Medicine and Pain
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• v.32 no.2
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• pp.227-239
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• 2007

To evaluate the treatment outcome after conservative treatment in patients with osteoarthritis of the TMJ(OA), the subjects were chosen among the patients who presented to the Department of Oral Medicine of Pusan National University Hospital, diagnosed as osteoarthritis of the TMJ, and treated with conservative methods from 1994 to 2006. 101 patients with diagnosis of osteoarthritis of the TMJ were selected as the experimental group and 74 patients with diagnosis of masticatory muscle disorders(MMD) were selected as the control group. Subjective symptoms and clinical findings were investigated to evaluate and compare the subject's status at the first and the last visit. The results were as follows : 1. In the OA group, satisfactory treatment outcome was obtained with conservative methods. But, at the last visit, the symptoms of the OA group were not improved enough compared with those of the MMD group. 2. In the OA group, radiographic findings of panorama view and transcranial projection were positive by about 60 percent. But, computed tomography and single photon emission computed tomography were positive by more than 90 percent. 3. At the last visit of the OA group, the joint noise was reduced significantly. 4. In the majority of the OA group, satisfactory treatment outcome was obtained with conservative methods such as medication, physical therapy, and occlusal stabilization appliance. In the majority of the MMD group, satisfactory outcome was obtained with medication and physical therapy. 5. It took the OA group from 6 months to 2 years to be cured well while the MMD group within 6 months.6. The OA group needed more than 10 times' treatment for satisfactory outcome while the MMD group needed less than 10 times' treatment.