EFFICACY OF TMJ ARTHROCENTESIS IN TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT DISORDERS

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of the Arthrocentesis in Temporomandibular joints disorders in terms of pain reduction and trismus. Materials and Methods: A total of 30 patients was randomly selected from the department of oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bacha Khan Medical Complex, Gajju Khan Medical College, Swabi. Age more than 25 years, with Joint noise, mouth opening less than 35mm, Pain at TMJ, patients having conservative treatment failed were included. Patients having systemic involvement, with previous intervention, joint infection, previous and trauma were excluded. Joint lavage was done under local anesthesia, and Arthrocentesis was performed. Data were analyzed by SPSS 20.0. Wilcoxon signed ranks test was applied to compare pain and mouth opening between the preoperative and postoperative periods. P≤0.05 was considered significant. Results: Of total 30 sample n=11(36.7%) were males and n=19(63.3%) were females. The mean age was 36.03±7.604 years, with a range of 25-50 years. The overall mean pain score on the visual analog scale (VAS) decreased from the preoperative period (6.9±2.295) to after one week (2.267± 0.98) and at 3rd month (0.8±0.847) after Arthrocentesis. The overall mean mouth opening increased form preoperative period (31.03±8.206 mm) to after one week (42.1±5.346 mm) and in 3rd month (42.13±5.316 mm) after Arthrocentesis. The reduction in mean pain on VAS at 7th day and 3rd month were very highly statistically significant (P<0.001). The increase in mouth opening at 7th day and 3rd month were very highly statistically significant (P<0.001). There was no difference between males and females. In both genders, the decrease in pain and mouth opening was statistically significant (P<0.00). Conclusion: Arthrocentesis is a minimally invasive surgical procedure for the management of Temporomandibular joint disorders with an excellent improvement of mouth opening and reducing pain.