Treatment Results after Intra-articular Injection of Corticosteroids in Patients with TMJ Arthritis

Arthritis is a common disease affecting the temporomandibular joint. The inflammation causes local pain and decreased function of the masticatory system. Temporomandibular joint arthritis can result from mechanical overloading, general autoimmune disease or individual susceptibility. The aim of this study was to investigate objective and subjective treatment results after intra-articular injection of corticosteroids in patients with temporomandibular joint arthritis. The hypothesis was that treatment with intra-articular injection of corticosteroids relieves clinical signs and subjective symptoms and no difference between objective and subjective treatment outcome was anticipated. An outcome assessment study with consecutive sample was performed. Objective and subjective data was registered from 70 subjects treated with intra-articular injection of corticosteroids. Statistics were analyzed in SPSS. Subgroup analysis was performed to evaluate and distinguish confounding variables such as sex, age, autoimmune disease (general), previous physical trauma and hard tissue changes. Maximum mouth opening capacity was increased by 8.7% after treatment demonstrating an objective improvement. Subjects with an initial impaired maximum mouth opening capacity <40 mm showed a greater increase compared to those within the normal range. Subjective assessment at follow-up presented a self-reported improvement in 77% of the subjects. The routines regarding follow-up were found to be inconsistent and subjective assessments scales were missing in about 50% of the cases. Objective and subjective improvement was observed after intra-articular injection of corticosteroids. This confirms the present treatment recommendations that intra-articular injection is an effective method in relieving signs and symptoms of temporomandibular joint arthritis.