A clinical investigation onto the effect of occlusal interferences & cognitive behavioural therapy in temporomandibular disorder patients

Purpose: The aetiology of temporomandibular disorder has been considered to be one of the most controversial issues in clinical dentistry. One of the conflicts that have attracted most attention has been the role of occlusal factors in temporomandibular disorder signs and symptoms. Therefore, this clinical investigation was done to evaluate the effect of occlusal interferences & cognitive behavioural therapy in temporomandibular disorder patients. Method: The study was carried out on 60 dental students, age ranging from 18-25 years. The subjects were screened using Research Diagnostic Criteria for temporomandibular disorder. Further, the T-Scan was used to find the occlusal interferences and accordingly occlusal adjustments were made. These subjects were recalled after 2 weeks for screening and they were counselled under cognitive behavioural therapy for 3 sessions. They were screened again after the completion of 3 sessions i.e. after 6 weeks. At each visit, chewing test is carried out by calculating chewing strokes with test food. Results: The majority of samples were in the range of 6-7 on pain scale at baseline, after 2 weeks in the range of 4-5 and after 6 weeks the intensity of pain was reduced to 3-4. Conclusion: Occlusal adjustment can contribute to a positive treatment outcome in combination with otheforms of therapy (counselling, splints, physiotherapy, etc).