The influence of stabilisation appliance therapy and other factors on the treatment outcome in patients with temporomandibular disorders of arthrogeneous origin

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate if the difference in treatment outcome between patients provided with a stabilisation appliance and a control appliance was due to the treatment and/or other factors in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) of arthrogeneous origin. Sixty patients were assigned to two equally sized groups: a treatment group, treated with a stabilisation appliance, and a control group given a control appliance. Thirteen possible background variables for the treatment outcome were correlated to changes in severity of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain on a verbal scale in the two patient groups. The logistic regression analyses revealed that, after correcting for the background variables, stabilisation appliance treatment was a strong explanatory factor for a positive treatment outcome, with a significance of P = 0.0013 compared to patients belonging to the control group. Background variables of significant importance for the treatment outcome were male sex (positive) (P = 0.0268), and severe or very severe TMJ pain (negative) (P = 0.0034). These findings indicate that not only the treatment with a stabilisation appliance but also sex and the intensity of the TMJ pain before treatment might influence the treatment outcome in patients with TMD of arthrogeneous origin.