The effectiveness of two treatments for muscle temporomandibular dysfunction: pilot study

Objective: the present study aims to compare the efficacy of two treatment protocols for temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) of muscular origin. Subjects and method: students of the Faculdade Especializada na área de Saúde do Rio Grande do Sul, that were selected through the questionnaire to evaluate the presence of TMD signs and symptoms and diagnosis of muscular TMD from the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Research Disorders. Ten students composed the sample, divided into two groups according to the treatment protocol: hyperthermia induced by G1, mandibular exercises and massage; G2 ‒ dry needling, induced hyperthermia, mandibular and massage exercises. Students were instructed to complete the G1 treatment protocol every day at home and at the educational institution for three sessions that occurred every fifty days. Dry needling was performed in G2 only in the second and third treatment sessions. To evaluate the effectiveness of the two treatments before and after each session, we evaluated: mouth opening (AB), through a millimeter ruler; visual analogue scale; bite force (FM) using a digital force gauge and quality of life was assessed immediately prior to initiation of treatment and after termination of treatment. Results: pain obtained a statistically significant difference in G2 after the second session (p=0.020) and the third session (p=0.047). The other results show that there was no statistically significant difference between the groups (p>0.05). Conclusion: it is considered that in this pilot study both treatments were effective for muscular TMD, since all the patients presented improvement of the symptoms. There was no statistically significant difference between treatments, except for post- -procedure pain, caused by the dry needling technique. (AU)