TMJ Disorder Research & Health News Weekly Round-Up – Third Week of May

You may have wondered why we’ve been a little quiet over the past two weeks. Well, now you can see why! We have had our hands full with the new addition to the family. She is insanely cute, but has more energy than any puppy I have ever met. Sometimes I wonder if someone switched her water with Red Bull when I wasn’t looking! So, now TMJ Hope has an adorable mascot! 🙂

In other news, we had a great article about choosing a protein powder this week that you’ll definitely want to read. Leave a comment on the post if you have a favorite type or brand – your comment could help someone avoid all the trial and error of finding a protein powder. There are also some tips at the end of that post that really made the difference for me when I was on a liquid diet (and I still use the tips now that I’m on a soft diet). Click here for the protein powder blog post.

We also published an article on TMJ arthroplasty – open joint surgery. Please let us know if you have any questions or if there is anything you would like us to add to the article!

Now, on to new research! There have been several interesting pieces of research in the past couple months that I would like to cover:
The Study: Signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders and the incidence of tinnitus.
Details: Are signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders risk factors for tinnitus?
The Results: The researchers, after studying over 3,000 patients, found that TMD is a risk factor for developing tinnitus.

The Study: Arthroscopy for temporomandibular disorders
Details: Is arthroscopy effective for TMJ pain and limited opening? How does it compare with both non-surgical treatment and other types of surgeries (arthrocentesis and open surgery)? This was a review of existing studies on arthroscopy and other treatments. Seven studies met the criteria to be included,
The Results: While it is important to note that I am only reviewing the abstract at this time, this is a very interesting study.
For two studies, at six months both arthroscopy AND non-surgical treatments reduced pain, there were no significant differences between them.
Two studies found no differences in pain between arthroscopy and arthrocentesis at twelve months.
Three of the studies looked at the difference between arthroscopy and open joint surgery, the open joint surgery fared better than the arthroscopy.
Arthroscopy was better at improving function than arthrocentesis after one year, but had no bearing on pain relief.

To summarize, at six months post-surgery there was no difference in pain relief between arthroscopy and non-surgical treatments (they both relieved pain). At twelve months, comparing arthroscopy and open joint surgery, the open joint procedure was more effective at reducing pain than arthroscopy.
Patients with arthroscopy were able to function better after 12 months than those who had an arthrocentesis, but there was no difference in the amount of pain relief they experienced.
If you have had any of these surgeries, do these results seem similar to what you have experienced? Would you be interested in a more in depth post about this study? If so, let us know in the comments below!

The Study: Anticonvulsants for orofacial pain – a systematic review
Details: This is another review type study, where researchers look at previously published studies to form an opinion about whether anticonvulsants are helpful for orofacial pain. Only four studies were “high quality” studies, and they were very small, so the researchers had trouble coming to a conclusion with such a tiny amount of data.
The Results: There is controversy over whether anticonvulsants are effective for orofacial pain disorders… this study basically ended up stating that there is “limited to moderate evidence supporting the efficacy of commonly used anticonvulsants for treatment of patients with orofacial pain disorders.” They feel that more trials are needed.

The Study: Efficacy of botulinum toxin type A for treatment of persistent myofascial TMD pain: a randomized, controlled, double-blind multicenter study
Details: Twenty-one patients were studied that had persistent facial pain after trying conservative treatments without success. They were given either saline injections (control) or Botox in the masseter muscle, and then followed up at one and three months.
The Results: There was no significant pain relief from the Botox. The study said, “These results do not indicate a clinical relevant effect of BTX-A in patients with persistent myofascial TMD pain.”

What do you think of these studies? Any questions?

Also, do you have any tips for handling a super-energetic puppy? I could definitely use a couple! 😉 😉