The diagnosis and treatment of temporomandibular dysfunctions in older, partially or totally edentulous patients.

While the anatomical structures of the temporomandibular functional complex are gradually modified and adapted throughout life, dysfunctions may arise in older patients as a result of a sudden, substantial change in jaw relationships. Such a change may be caused by the extraction of a large or small number of teeth giving rise to unbalanced, eccentric occlusion and sometimes to a pathological change in vertical dimension, or by the fitting of a prosthesis which renders these conditions permanent. The principal clinical manifestations are preauricular pain, which may spread more widely, and mandibular dyskinesias. Treatment involves the restoration of a functional jaw relationship and a functional vertical dimension. A retroincisal bite-plane is used to re-establish these conditions. Prosthetic restoration renders them permanent and consolidates the relief of symptoms.