Temporomandibular dysfunction assessment in children treated with the Hall Technique: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND

The Hall technique (HT) involves the placement of stainless steel crowns for treating asymptomatic carious primary teeth without tooth preparation or caries excavation.

AIM

To investigate whether temporomandibular dysfunction (TM-D) manifests in children after HT.

DESIGN

Healthy children (age: 5-9 years) with dentin caries were treated with HT in a university clinic, and TM-D signs and symptoms were monitored in this cohort clinical trial. The primary outcome was TM-D signs recorded using the clinical dysfunction index (Di) at pre-treatment: 0-, 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up visits. The secondary outcome was TM-D symptoms recorded using a questionnaire. The Di and symptoms were compared over time using McNemar's tests.

RESULTS

Thirty-nine children were followed for 12 months after HT treatment. Four children were detected as having dysfunction signs throughout the study: muscle pain on palpation and clicking. The symptoms 'hearing a sound within the jaw joint' or 'bite felt uncomfortable or unusual' were reported by another four children. The Di and TM-D symptoms were not significantly different between pre-treatment and follow-up visits (P > .05).

CONCLUSIONS

The HT does not seem to be connected to TM-D. Alternative TM-D assessment tools for studying non-persistent symptoms more comprehensively might be useful for future studies.