Controversies in TMD

Health professionals have dealt with temporomandibular disorders, a major cause of non-dental pain in the orofacial region, by developing a broad range of treatments, from occlusal alteration to multidisciplinary self-care regimens. Research directed toward evaluation of various TMD treatment modalities is particularly controversial due to cyclical fluctuation of symptoms, high rates of spontaneous remission, and possibility of placebo effect interference. Given this variety of treatments now current, dental professionals bear a broadening responsibility to review and assess the range of diagnostic possibilities and treatment potentials now entering into the scientific literature.