This study was performed to evaluate and compare conservative treatment results by several parameters such as age, sex, symptom duration, type and timing of joint sound, parafunctional habits, splint type, and diagnostic classification. There have been too many articles ie-plting long term results of conservative treatment but articles related to comparison of treatment results by patients´ self-evaluation have been rarely reported.
For this study 258 patient$ with temporomandibualr disorders(TMDs) were selected and examined by routine diagnostic procedure for TMDs. The subjects were classified into 5 TMDs. subgroups and treated with conservative treatments involving splint, physical modalities, jaw exercises, and counseling. Visual analogue srale(VAS) about pain, joint sound, and mouth opening limitation was recorded respectively during treatment period From the VAS data and treatment duration; VAS treatment index(VAS Ti) ´was calculated.
The obtained results were as follows
1. Pain was the most frequent main symptom in subjects with temporomandibular disorders, and main symptom for mouth opening limitation was comparatively less than for pain or sound in disk displacement with reduction group or in degenerative joint disease group
2. Degenerative joint diseas group had the most poor treatment results and highest occlusal index of Helkimo´s index. 3. Good prognosis for consevative treatment was observed in acute group, under 6 months than chronic group, 6
months over in symptom duration, and subjects with 40 years over in age showed the most poor prognosis.
4. Subjects treated with anterior repositioning splint had better treatment results than subjects treated with centric
relation splint, but statistical significance in VAS Ti and treatment duration was not observed .
5. Treatment results according to affected side, types and point of joint sound did not show consistent statistical
results.
6. The result for conservative treatment was observed poor in subjects with bruxism and clenching
7. In studying coincidence between preferred chewing and affected side, frequency of preferred chewing side, in unilateral affection, was higher in ipsilateral than in contralateral side.
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