Abstract
Oral surgeons and psychiatrists performed coordinated treatment for temporomandibular disorders types III & W.
We worked with patients seen from April 1 to June 30, 2003. The patients were divided into two groups, one treated only by oral surgeons only (Group D) and the other by both oral surgeons and psychiatrists (Group P). Groups D and P were compared by Fisher's exact test and the T test, and no significant difference was observed.
The outcome was evaluated after three months, mostly in terms of the angle of the mouth opening and pain during opening, and the results for both groups were analyzed by Wilcoxson's signed rank sum test.
In group D, no significant improvement was noted in either the angle of mouth opening or the pain during opening. In group P, too, there was no significant improvement in the angle of mouth opening but a significant reduction of the pain experienced during opening (P<0.05) was observed.
The results suggest that the involvement of psychiatrists may be effective for the treatment of subjective symptoms such as pain, which could be particularly susceptible to influence from personalityrelated factors and psychiatric symptoms.
