Need for occlusal therapy and prosthodontic treatment in the management of temporomandibular disorders. Part I. Occlusal interferences and occlusal adjustment.

This review, divided into two parts, evaluates the literature on the relationship between dental occlusion and temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and the need for occlusal therapy in the management of TMD. The first part of the review focuses on the aetiological importance of occlusal interferences and the place of occlusal adjustment in the management and prevention of signs and symptoms of TMD. This has long been a controversial issue, which has not yet been resolved. The literature does not give strong support for the role of occlusion in the aetiology of TMD. Experienced clinicians also repudiate the need for occlusal adjustment in the management of TMD, whereas (less experienced) general dentists adhere to a concept focusing on the occlusion in diagnosis and treatment of TMD. There is a consensus that generalized prophylactic occlusal adjustment is not justified. There is an obvious need for research with evidence-based methods, to be able to answer the many remaining questions in this field.