Physiotherapeutic treatment in temporomandibular disorders

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Temporomandibular dysfunction is defined as a set of dysfunctions that affect the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joint and associated structures. The objective of this study was to systematize scientific evidence on the techniques of physiotherapeutic treatment for temporomandibular disorders. CONTENTS: The search was performed on the Medline, LILACS and Scielo databases, as well as the Pubmed search tool for articles published in the last 10 years, from August 2006 to August 2016. The survey was carried out with the following descriptors: “temporomandibular joint” and “physiotherapy”, “temporomandibular joint disorders” and “physiotherapy”, “temporomandibular joint” and “physiotherapy techniques”, “temporomandibular joint disorders” and “physiotherapy techniques”. We included randomized trials and case reports, composed only of patients with temporomandibular disorders who underwent physical therapy. The search totaled 32 studies and 11 of them were selected. The pain was assessed by unanimity. The articles did the same amount of sessions. CONCLUSION: Several resources such as ultrasound, laser, cathodic current; or manual therapies, as muscle stretching, and joint mobilization bring remarkable benefits to temporomandibular dysfunction. However, studies with higher methodological quality with follow-up are necessary.