Perception of the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorder in females by using the ProTMDMulti protocol and the visual analog scale before and after acupuncture treatment.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the perceptions of patients with TMD in relation to the signs and symptoms before and after acupuncture treatment, according to the ProTMDMulti and the VAS.

METHOD: 68 patients were divided into groups: muscle TMD treated with acupuncture at local points (MUS-LP), muscle TMD with acupuncture at distant points (MUS-DP), joint and muscle treated with LP (JOI-LP) and joint and muscle treated with DP (JOI-DP). The evaluations were performed at four times: initial, control, final and follow-up.

RESULTS

The best results were seen in the JOI-LP and the MUS-DP groups, in which the perceptions of the signs and symptoms were statistically lower in the final assessment than in the initial (P<0.05). In all groups, the final and the follow-up evaluations were similar.

CONCLUSIONS

For TMDs with joint components, the best acupuncture treatment involves local points and for the TMDs with muscle components, points at a distance.