THE VALIDITY AND UTILITY OF DISEASE DETECTION METHODS AND OF OCCLUSALTHERAPY FOR TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS

Our evaluation of the clinical usefulness of devices for the diagnosis or treatment of temporomandibular. disorders (TMD) led to the conclus ion that the only current gold standard for TMD is a global clinical e xamination, because none of the instruments can be said to provide mor e than ancillary documentation and none have proven diagnostic validit y or utility. Regarding the therapeutic efficacy of occlusal adjustmen t, we could find no comparative studies that test the efficacy of occl usal adjustment in preventing TMD. The studies we reviewed on the rela tionship of occlusion to TMD are not convincing, powerful, or practica l enough to make any recommendations about a causal association.