TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER - EFFICACY OF AN ORAL HABIT REVERSAL TREATMENT PROGRAM

Little attention has been directed at interventions that directly teac h facial pain patients to detect, interrupt and reverse the maladaptiv e oral habits and cognitions thought to be associated with muscle hype r-reactivity and pain. The present study tested a seven-session struct ured-group habit reversal treatment intervention for facial pain patie nts. Nine facial pain subjects participated in treatment groups and se ven qualified subjects who did not participate in treatment served as a comparison group. Pre, post, and follow-up assessments included meas ures of pain and psychological functioning. Subjects in the treatment group improved on all measures of pain relative to those in the compar ison group. These improvements were maintained or augmented at four mo nth follow-up assessments suggesting that habit reversal training, par ticularly in a group format, may provide a cost-effective intervention for facial pain patients. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd