Abstract
A questionnaire was sent to 253 patients after they were treated for temporomandibular disorders (TMD) at the Department of Fixed Prosthodontics, Dental Hospital, Iwate Medical University from January of 1981 to January of 1994.
The results were as follows:
1. The questionnaire was answered by 53% of the patients.
2. Slight decreases in the degree of daily life interference, range of mouth opening, spontaneous pain, opening pain, and masticatory pain were observed.
3. The TMJ sound in 3.4% of the patients worsened, while 46.2% of the patients improved. In terms of bad habits, 1.7% patients worsened, and 21.9% patients improved.
4. Since the range in mouth opening that was evaluated subjectively did not exactly match the objective results, careful evaluation was necessary to determine the effect of the treatment.
