Objective To evaluate the ability to open the mouth in patients undergoing radiotherapy for head and neck and the variables related to this limitation. Methods 32 patients were evaluated six months after completion of radiotherapy sessions to treat cancer in the head and neck. The maximum mouth opening was measured using digital calipers and its association with gender, age, smoking, alcohol co...

Functional separation of the lungs may be accomplished by several methods. Patient with restricted mouth opening has limited options for one-lung ventilation. We report the use of wire-guided endobronchial blockade, a new tool for achieving one-lung ventilation in a patient with restricted mouth opening requiring nasotracheal, fiberoptic intubation for esophagectomy and reconstruction with gast...

INTRODUCTION Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) lead to masticatory muscle pain, jaw movement disability and limitation in mouth opening. Pain is the chief complaint in 90% of the TMD patients which leads to disability and severe socioeconomic costs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the therapeutic effects of low level laser therapy (LLLT) compared to pharmacotherapy with NSAIDs (naprox...

Phrenic nerve stimulation (PNS) can assess airflow dynamics of the upper airway (UA) during wakefulness in man. Using PNS, we aimed to assess the impact of neck flexion and mouth opening in promoting UA unstability. Measurements were made during nasal breathing in seven healthy subjects (ages = 23-39 yr; one woman). Surface diaphragm electromyogram, esophageal pressure referenced to mask pressu...

Patients with extensive head and neck injuries due to trauma and/or extensive surgical procedures often exhibit a severely limited ability to open the mouth. For the dentist involved in prosthodontic treatment of such patients, restricted mouth opening commonly leads to compromised impressions and prostheses especially in cases where both hard and soft palatal parts have been resected. In prost...

OBJECTIVE Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are the most common source of orofacial pain of a non-dental origin. The study was performed to investigate the therapeutic effect of the conventional occlusal splint therapy and the physical therapy. The hypothesis tested was that the simultaneous use of occlusal splint and physical therapy is an effective method for treatment of anterior disc displa...

myositis ossificans (mo) is a pathologic bone formation in soft tissue with unknown pathogenesis. in this article, we reported a case of long standing mo of right medial pterygoid muscle with severe limitation of mouth opening.