Comparative Occlusal Analysis in Individuals with Muscular Temporomandibular Dysfunction During Painful and Pain-free Periods Using Scanning and Electronic Occlusal Analysis
Anelise Barros Araújo *
Program of Post Graduate in Dentistry, São Leopoldo Mandic College, Campinas, Brazil.
Antônio Sérgio Guimarães
Program of Post Graduate in Dentistry, São Leopoldo Mandic College, Campinas, Brazil and Laboratory of Neuroimmune Interface of Pain Research, São Leopoldo Mandic College, Campinas, Brazil.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Temporomandibular Dysfunction (TMD) is a term that encompasses clinical problems involving the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), and its associated structures. In the management of TMD, the number of occlusal contact points in individuals has been investigated as a way to complement the diagnosis, since the limited evidence suggests that this condition influences contact points. This study aims to evaluate the contact area of teeth in patients with muscular temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) using digital scanning and electronic occlusal analysis, both with and without myofascial pain. This research is a quantitative and longitudinal study, where the population consisted of 15 individuals that were evaluated using the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD). Those diagnosed with muscular TMD (local myalgia, myofascial pain with or without referral) were included in the study. For data collection, after analyzing pain intensity using the visual analog scale (VAS), the patients' dental arches were scanned while the patient was seated, following the Frankfurt plane parallel to the ground, using a support to ensure parallelism (T1). At a second time point (T2), up to 7 days after the painful episode, the patients underwent further scans. The scanning was performed using a 3shape scanner. The results obtained in phases T1 and T2 were tabulated and evaluated. When comparing the number of contact points, a significant difference was found between the two study time points, with averages of 19.5 and 21.9 in T1 and T2 respectively (p<0.0001). The Visual Analog Scale showed an average score of 8 in T1, while in T2 the average reported by the patients was 0. When comparing the VAS scores at the two study time points, a significant difference was detected between them (p<0.0001). It can be concluded that the contact surface of the posterior teeth increased significantly in patients during the pain-free period when compared to the pain period.
Keywords: Temporomandibular dysfunction, myalgia, occlusion, myofascial pain