Historical Transition of Prosthodontic Treatments for Temporomandibular Disorders with Special Reference to Splint Therapy, Occlusal Adjustments, and Occlusal Reconstruction

Abstract

The present review fully traces the historical development of therapeutic approaches to the management oftemporomandibular disorders (TMD), with emphasis on conservative prosthodontic approaches. The tremendous amount of clinical research on TMD results in universal understanding as follows: (1) TMD consists of the umbrella terms that describe several pathological conditions with similar signs and symptoms; (2) TMD is multifactorial on the basis of biopsychosocial model etiology; (3) The long-term management ofTMD should be done within the biopsychosocial mode; (4) Because each condition of TMD can expect a natural remission, reversible therapies should come first. Standardization of the methods used to measure treatment outcomes of TMDs should be strongly established in future studies.