We treated 1472 patients who were suffering from internal derangement of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) between April 1' 1999 and March 31' 2002. We studied the efficacy of simple mandibular manipulation therapy on the day of presentation in 154 patients (42 males and 112 females) with closed lock of the TMJ.
The results were as follows:
(1) At presentation, 133 (86.4 %) patients were unlocked by simple mandibular manipulation therapy.
(2) The response rate in females and males were 88.4 % and 81.0 %, respectively.
(3) All patients (100 %) became unlocked by the present therapy within 1 week from the onset of symptoms.
(4) The effectiveness of the therapy was reduced if closed lock had persisted for 3 or more weeks.
