Cited by 152Temporomandibular Joint DisordersMusculoskeletal pain and rehabilitationMyofascial pain diagnosis and treatment

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 40 of the 43 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; 11 of the 21 sources its claims cite were checked for support.

Management of chronic pain associated with temporomandibular disorders: a clinical practice guideline

Open access

Abstract

Clinical question: What is the comparative effectiveness of available therapies for chronic pain associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD)? Current practice: TMD are the second most common musculoskeletal chronic pain disorder after low back pain, affecting 6-9% of adults globally. TMD are associated with pain affecting the jaw and associated structures and may present with headaches, earache, clicking, popping, or crackling sounds in the temporomandibular joint, and impaired mandibular function. Current clinical practice guidelines are largely consensus-based and provide inconsistent recommendations. Recommendations: For patients living with chronic pain (≥3 months) associated with TMD, and compared with placebo or sham procedures, the guideline panel issued: (1) strong recommendations in favour of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) with or without biofeedback or relaxation therapy, therapist-assisted mobilisation, manual trigger point therapy, supervised postural exercise, supervised jaw exercise and stretching with or without manual trigger point therapy, and usual care (such as home exercises, stretching, reassurance, and education); (2) conditional recommendations in favour of manipulation, supervised jaw exercise with mobilisation, CBT with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS), manipulation with postural exercise, and acupuncture; (3) conditional recommendations against reversible occlusal splints (alone or in combination with other interventions), arthrocentesis (alone or in combination with other interventions), cartilage supplement with or without hyaluronic acid injection, low level laser therapy (alone or in combination with other interventions), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, gabapentin, botulinum toxin injection, hyaluronic acid injection, relaxation therapy, trigger point injection, acetaminophen (with or without muscle relaxants or NSAIDS), topical capsaicin, biofeedback, corticosteroid injection (with or without NSAIDS), benzodiazepines, and β blockers; and (4) strong recommendations against irreversible oral splints, discectomy, and NSAIDS with opioids. How this guideline was created: An international guideline development panel including patients, clinicians with content expertise, and methodologists produced these recommendations in adherence with standards for trustworthy guidelines using the GRADE approach. The MAGIC Evidence Ecosystem Foundation (MAGIC) provided methodological support. The panel approached the formulation of recommendations from the perspective of patients, rather than a population or health system perspective. The evidence: Recommendations are informed by a linked systematic review and network meta-analysis summarising the current body of evidence for benefits and harms of conservative, pharmacologic, and invasive interventions for chronic pain secondary to TMD. Understanding the recommendation: These recommendations apply to patients living with chronic pain (≥3 months duration) associated with TMD as a group of conditions, and do not apply to the management of acute TMD pain. When considering management options, clinicians and patients should first consider strongly recommended interventions, then those conditionally recommended in favour, then conditionally against. In doing so, shared decision making is essential to ensure patients make choices that reflect their values and preference, availability of interventions, and what they may have already tried. Further research is warranted and may alter recommendations in the future.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This BMJ Rapid Recommendation clinical practice guideline provides GRADE-based recommendations for chronic pain (≥3 months) associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), informed by a linked systematic review and network meta-analysis of 153 trials (8713 participants) and 59 interventions. It strongly recommends several conservative/active therapies and usual care, conditionally supports some others, and recommends against many pharmacological, splint, and invasive interventions, with strong recommendations against irreversible oral splints, discectomy, and NSAIDs with opioids.

Key findings

  • Strong recommendations in favour of: CBT with or without biofeedback or relaxation therapy, therapist-assisted mobilisation, manual trigger point therapy, supervised postural exercise, supervised jaw exercise and stretching with or without manual trigger point therapy, and usual care. Average effects on pain for these interventions ranged from −1.31 cm to −2.62 cm on a 10 cm visual analogue scale (MID 1 cm).
  • Conditional recommendations in favour of: manipulation, supervised jaw exercise with mobilisation, CBT with NSAIDs, manipulation with postural exercise, and acupuncture.
  • Conditional recommendations against: reversible occlusal splints, arthrocentesis, cartilage supplement with or without hyaluronic acid injection, low level laser therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, gabapentin, botulinum toxin injection, hyaluronic acid injection, relaxation therapy, trigger point injection, acetaminophen, topical capsaicin, biofeedback, corticosteroid injection, benzodiazepines, and β blockers.
  • Strong recommendations against: irreversible oral splints, discectomy, and NSAIDs with opioids. The linked review included 210 studies (233 publications), of which 153 trials (8713 participants) informed network meta-analyses of 59 interventions.

Methods

  • An international guideline development panel—including patients, clinicians with content expertise, and methodologists—produced recommendations using the GRADE approach and BMJ Rapid Recommendations procedures, from a patient rather than population or health-system perspective. Strong recommendations required 80% panel consensus; conditional recommendations required majority consensus.
  • Recommendations were informed by a linked systematic review and network meta-analysis of randomised trials comparing 59 interventions or combinations against placebo or sham procedures in patients with chronic pain associated with TMD. Trials typically enrolled small numbers with short follow-up, predominantly women aged 30–39 years with longstanding moderate chronic TMD pain.
  • The panel identified seven patient-important outcomes, with pain relief as the critical outcome. Because harms were inadequately reported, the panel surveyed clinical experts about anticipated serious and non-serious adverse events.

Limitations

  • The paper states the recommendations apply to adult patients with moderate chronic pain (4–6 cm on a 10 cm pain scale for ≥3 months) secondary to TMD as a group of conditions, and do not apply to acute TMD pain (<3 months). It also states that substantial unexplained heterogeneity means different TMD subtypes may benefit more or less from certain interventions.
  • The paper states many trials excluded patients with comorbid mental illness, fibromyalgia, or rheumatoid arthritis, or those who had prior TMD surgery, and did not report representation of veterans, individuals receiving disability benefits, or those engaged in litigation; generalisability to these populations is uncertain. Harms evidence was almost entirely very low certainty, and only 32% (19 of 59) of interventions reported harms data.
  • Evident from the text: trials were typically small and short-term, mostly enrolled mixed or unspecified TMD subtypes, and 88% (134/153) were conducted in high- or middle-income countries; funding was not reported for 44% (68/153) of trials.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1136/bmj-2023-076227

Cites

40 of 40 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Verification

Claims the paper makes

16 Own result · 11 Own method · 10 Own interpretation · 5 Partly supported · 5 No basis given · 3 Supported · 3 No full text of the sources · 1 Supported so far · 1 Couldn’t confirm · 1 Sources not found · accuracy not yet measured

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 24
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 26
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1
41 of 41
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The minimally important difference for chronic pain associated with temporomandibular disorders is 1 cm on a 10 cm visual analogue scale.

    “on which the minimally important difference (MID) is 1 cm”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Long term opioids, NSAIDs, and invasive or irreversible procedures are associated with a small risk of serious, potentially catastrophic, harms.

    “Long term opioids, NSAIDs, and invasive or irreversible procedures are associated with a small risk of serious, potentially catastrophic, harms”
2 of 2

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

Show all 43 references

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. National Academies of Sciences E . Medicine. Temporomandibular Disorders: Priorities for Research and Care. The National Academies Press, 2020.
  2. Zandieh S Abdollahzadeh M Inness BE . Remote versus in-person cognitive behavioural therapy: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized trials. CMAJ forthcoming.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

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Metadata

Authors
Busse, J. W., Casassus, R., Carrasco-Labra, A., Durham, J., Mock, D., Zakrzewska, J. M., Palmer, C., Samer, C. F., Coen, M., Guevremont, B., Hoppe, T., Guyatt, G. H., Crandon, H. N., Yao, L., Sadeghirad, B., Vandvik, P. O., Siemieniuk, R. A. C., Lytvyn, L., Hunskaar, B. S., & Agoritsas, T.
Affiliations
  • McMaster University (CA)
  • Universidad del Desarrollo (CL)
  • Center for Integrative Global Oral Health, University of Pennsylvania, School of Dental Medicine, Philadelphia PA, USA
  • Newcastle University (GB)
  • Mount Sinai Hospital (CA)
  • Eastman Dental Hospital (GB)
  • Veterans Affairs Canada (CA)
  • University of Geneva (CH)
  • Chronic Pain Centre of Excellence for Canadian Veterans (CA)
  • Innlandet Hospital Trust (NO)
  • University Hospital of Geneva (CH)
Corresponding author
Busse, Jason W
Venue
BMJ
Publisher
BMJ
Published
2023-12-15
Volume
383
Pages
e076227
ISSN
1756-1833 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4389781194
Cited by
152
References
43
Citations by year
2026: 50 · 2025: 66 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 2
FWCI
38.62
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • BMJ (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Archive ouverte UNIGE (University of Geneva) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • HighWire Press Open Archive (submittedVersion)
Funders
Canadian Institutes of Health Research
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Dentistry › Oral Surgery › Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Musculoskeletal pain and rehabilitation
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Physical Therapy, Sports Therapy and Rehabilitation › Myofascial pain diagnosis and treatment
Keywords
temporomandibular disorders, chronic pain, cognitive behavioral therapy, biofeedback, postural exercises, acupuncture, manipulation, occlusal splint, hyaluronic acid injection, botulinum toxin, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, low-level laser therapy, comparative effectiveness, conservative treatment, pharmacotherapy, invasive treatment
MeSH terms
Network Meta-Analysis, Network Meta-Analysis as Topic, Systematic Reviews as Topic, Adult, Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal, Humans, Hyaluronic Acid, Temporomandibular Joint Disorders, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Ecosystem, Chronic Pain, Acute Pain

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