Temporomandibular joint arthrocentesis: long-term results.

Arthrocentesis is a simple procedure, that may be performed under local anaesthesia and entails low risks of complications. It consists in the lavage of the upper joint compartment of the temporo-mandibular articulation through two transcutaneous needles of entrance and exit. The simplicity of execution, the low costs of the material employed and the excellent results published cause that this technique is beginning to be included in international protocols of treatment of temporomandibular dysfunctions. The clinical study involves 26 articulation in 25 patients. The age of the subjects at the time of the treatment ranged from 16 to 70 years. The follow-up of the patients treated ranges from a minimum of 12 to a maximum of 53 months. The most significant parameters to assess the effectiveness of the articular lavage, performed by the arthrocentesis technique, are the local pain intensity and the millimetre analytic comparison of the mouth opening and the mandibular movements in protrusion and laterality. A Student's "t" test was used to compare pre-treatment and post-treatment differences in level of TMJ pain and maximal mouth opening, in both cases section valve was less then 0.05 and so statistically significant.