A retrospective study of the relationship between the presence of complaints and the identified pathological changes in the temporomandibular joint

Introduction. In the practice of an orthodontist, diseases of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) are an urgent problem due to their widespread, diverse clinical manifestations.

Goal. To study the relationship between the identified anatomical and functional disorders of the TMJ, as risk factors for complications during orthodontic treatment, and the presence of characteristic complaints in the structure of pathological changes in the TMJ.

Materials and methods. According to the type of organization and the ratio of data collection time, the scientific study belonged to a longitudinal retrospective study, according to the type of observation: case-control. A retrospective analysis of 102 outpatient medical records of patients who sought medical help from an orthodontist at a dental clinic was carried out. The criterion for inclusion in the study was the presence of a newly diagnosed disease of the temporomandibular joint, mandatory radiological diagnostic methods. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the TMJ in the patient who sought medical help was used as a radiation diagnosis. As part of the scientific study, the structure of pathological changes in the TMJ was analyzed, the relationship between the presence of complaints and the revealed pathology was studied.

Results. The analysis of the data showed that the MR examination of the TMJ reveals pathological changes in patients who sought orthodontic care, both with complaints and with an asymptomatic course of diseases. Data analysis did not show a statistically significant relationship between the presence of complaints and the revealed pathology in the case of degenerative (χ² = 0.123; p > 0.05), inflammatory changes in the TMJ (χ² = 0.123; p > 0.05) and pathological disorders of the masticatory muscles (F = 0.704; p > 0.05). The relationship is statistically significant, but weak for ventral dislocation without reposition (p < 0.05; φ = 0.107) and the dorsal arrangement of the disc (p < 0.05; φ = 0.101). In the case of ventral dislocation of the articular disc with the reposition, the relationship is statistically significant, of medium strength (p < 0.05; φ = 0.284).

Conclusions. The results of a retrospective analysis of medical documentation confirm the need for instrumental research methods for all patients, regardless of whether they have any complaints at the stage of determining the optimal tactics of orthodontic intervention to obtain diagnostic information on the state of the TMJ in order to prevent the risks of complications during orthodontic treatment.

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