The DC/TMD Conundrum

The goal of any disease classification system, based on the core principles of translational and evidence-based medicine, is to develop management plans that provide appropriate high-quality patient care based on accurate diagnoses, according to the core principles of translational medicine.

Within these premises, the current classification schemes that are available in the field of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) practice are hardly clinically useful and patient oriented. The publication of the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) is a milestone achievement that serves as a foundation of the discipline, but it clearly lacks the needed impact on the everyday practice and treatment planning. From being the potential solution to the necessity of standardizing TMD classification, the DC/TMD became an enigma in search of a solution: how to progress and move on to embed current evidence-based knowledge into a diagnostic and classification schemes that can be adopted both for academic and clinical purposes?

This manuscript provides an overview of the reasons why the time has come to rethink, reconceptualize and reconfigure the currently accepted concepts and develop concepts based on the current body of evidence that provide improved clinical usefulness and medical semantics.

There will be a long and difficult task ahead, but it is time to get to work and try solving the DC/TMD conundrum for the advancement of our field and enhanced care for our patients.

The field of orofacial pain and temporomandibular disorders is constantly evolving, and the need for patient-oriented, clinical-friendly classification systems that facilitate treatment plan is emerging.