Objectives: The purpose of this study is to evaluate factors influencing prognosis of arthrocentesis in patients with temporomandibular joint(TMJ) disorder.
Materials and Methods: The subjects included 145 patients treated with arthrocentesis at the Dental Center of Ajou University Hospital from the year of 2011 to 2013 for the purpose of recovering mouth opening limitation and pain relief. Prognosis of arthrocentesis was evaluated one month after the operation. Improvement on mouth opening limitation was defined as an increase from below 30mm (MOL ) to above 40mm (MOL ), and pain relief was defined as when a group with TMJ pain VAS(visual analog scales) 4 or more <TMJ pain(VAS > decreased to scale 3 or more. The success of arthrocentesis was determined when either mouth opening improved or pain relief fulfilled. To determine the factors influencing the successs of arthrocentesis, the patients were classified by age, gender, diagnosis groups (Anterior disc displacement without reduction group, Anterior disc displacement with reduction group, TMJ disorder etc. group), time of onset and oral habit(clenching, bruxism) to investigate the correlations between these factors and prognosis.
Results: One hundred twenty-one out of 145 patients with arthrocentesis were found to be successful. Among the influencing factors mentioned above, age, diagnosis and time of onset had no significant correlations with the success of arthrocentesis. However, a group of patients in their fifties showed a lower success rate (ANOVA P=0.053) and the success rate of the group with oral habit was 71% (pearson Chi-Square test p=0.035).
Conclusion: This study showed factors influencing the success of arthrocentesis include age and oral habits. Also conclude that arthrocentesis is effective in treating mouth opening symptoms and for pain relief.
