TMJ Study and Investigation Page. Three years of publication.

Dear friends,

At December 2014 I started the project TMJ Study and Investigation Page. At first, all its content was offered in three languages: Portuguese, English and Spanish. Due to the analysis of the webpage access statistics, at March 2015 I decided to offer the content solely in Portuguese and English.

Anyway, access to the contents of the page is still available to other researchers, professionals in the field and to those interested in the research that I develop.

Nowadays, the medicine based on evidence is hierarchically stratified from top to bottom, where in the base of the pyramid we find the clinic cases, which are rarely seen as evidence.

The TMJ Study and Investigation Page had in its conception, the purpose of posting the clinic cases, which were carefully published with the documentation related to each of the patients treated at Clinica MY with pain complaints, dysfunction and TMJ pathology.

The proposition was of presenting these clinic cases and concepts in order share them, offering free access to the content along images, surface electromyographies, computerized kinesiography, scanned before and after the therapeutic process. Cases of tridimentional orthodontics and neuromuscular phisiologic reabilitation of the second phase of treatment, after the TMJ treatment, were also included.

The TMJ Study and Investigation Page completed in the month of December, three years of life.

I remembered to celebrate on the first anniversary of the Page.

In the middle of the work with patients, teaching and publications I did not remember to celebrate the second year.

I want to celebrate these three years with you.

With this project, we have a place in the Internet that presents a line of work known as neuromuscular physiologic dentistry, which takes into account the whole body system. It is an area which acts on posture, mandibular functioning and considers the entire body system.

In order to do that, the neuromuscular physiologic dentistry aims to establish, in the patient, a position that is based on a harmonious relation between the muscles, the teeth, and the temporomandibular joints.

In the publication of this year’s end I have chosen the most significant images of all these years of publications, with direct links to each of the original publications.

At the end of this publication I placed the links of the publications of the first year of this page.

The TMJ Study and Investigation Page  has grown tremendously and continues to receive visitors from all over the world.

Thank you!

Lidia Yavich

Temporomandibular Joint Pathology in a Patient with Congenital Fusion of two Cervical Vertebrae. First and Second Phase. Case Report.

Postural Improvement in a Patient after Neuromuscular Physiological Mandible Repositioning Treatment. Patient with Scoliosis Surgery and Craniomandibular Symptomatology.

TMJ Pathologies Treatment: Patient with Severe Headaches and Temporomandibular Joint Pain with Significant Contour Irregularities in the Mandibular Condyle and Mouth Opening Limitation.

Reestablishment of the Bone Marrow Signal in a case of Avascular Necrosis of the Mandibular Head. Monitoring two years after treatment.

Neuromuscular Physiological Treatment in a Patient with Headache and Pain in the Temporomandibular Joints. Case report without possibility of Disc Recapture: first and second phase.

Child with Otalgia (earache) and Conductive Hearing Loss: when measuring makes the difference. Normalization of hearing thresholds. First and second phase. Case report.

TMJ Pathologies Treatment: Patient with Pain in the Back of the Head, Bilateral Tinnitus and Constant Teeth and Prosthesis Fracture. First and second phase. Case Report.

TMJ Pathologies Treatment: Patient with headache for 30 years. Neuromuscular Physiological Rehabilitation. First and second phase. Case Report.

TMJ Pathology in Professional Musicians: A look beyond the risk factors. Physiological Neuromuscular Rehabilitation. First and second phase. Case Report.

TMJ Study and Investigation Page. One year of publication

The TMJ Study and Investigation Page  has grown tremendously and continues to receive visitors from all over the world.

Thank you!

Lidia Yavich

Child with Otalgia (earache) and Conductive Hearing Loss: when measuring makes the difference. Normalization of hearing thresholds. First and second phase. Case report.

Symptoms of mild hearing loss occurring in childhood often go unnoticed. It is vital the early detection of this deficiency.

Various physical and psychological activities of children and adolescents may be affected due to hearing impairment.

The conductive hearing loss resulting from Eustachian tube dysfunction INITIATED BY  TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS  is OFTEN NOT CONSIDERED.

It is vital the early detection of this deficiency.

There are two general types of hearing loss, conductive and sensorineural.

Conductive hearing loss results from disruption in the passage of sound from the external ear to the oval window.

Anatomically, this pathway includes the ear canal, tympanic membrane, and ossicles. Such loss may be due to cerumen impaction, tympanic membrane perforation, otitis media, osteosclerosis , intraaural muscle dysfunction, or displacement of the ossicles by the malleolar ligament.

Sensorineural hearing loss results from otology abnormalities beyond the oval window. Such abnormalities may affect the sensory cells of the cochlea or the neural fibers of the 8^th cranial nerve. Hearing loss with age (presbycusis) is an example. Eight cranial nerve tumors may also lead to such hearing loss.

Male patient, eleven years old,  arrived to the clinic for consultation referring headache, pain on the  back of the head, shoulder pain, neck pain, hand numbness and tingling  in hands and LIMITATION OF MOUTH OPENING.

The patient reports pain in the left ear and sensation of ear blockage especially on the left side. He also has tinnitus in both ears and DECREASE OF HEARING IN BOTH EARS.

Any hearing loss reported by the patient, must be evidenced by an audiometry.

Patient’s medical history: is relevant to this case the antecedent trauma on the chin at early childhood. It is also important to consider his recurrent infections of  ear and throat and that when he was eight months old he had a severe pneumonia that required hospitalization.

Images of the patient’s habitual occlusion. Upper and lower oclusal view. Patient’s photos:  frontal, profile and smiling on the day of consultation.

Patient’s initial panoramic radiograph

Patient temporomandibular joint laminography before treatment: we can observe the superior and posterior position of the left condylar process in the articular cavity when the jaw is in the position of  maximum intercuspidation.

In the maximum opening position, we can observe the anterior angulation of the left articular processes.

Patient’s habitual image occlusion before treatment, in the consultation day.We may observe here an important overbite.

It is evident the lack of space for the correct positioning of the  left maxillary canine.

Superior and lower oclusal view of the patient before treatment. It is evident the lack of space for the correct positioning of the left maxillary canine.

Patient’s lateral radiograph together with the profile image before treatment.

Retrognathic profile and rectification of the cervical spine.

MRI T1: Sagittal slice, left and right TMJ closed mouth before treatment.

We can observe anterior facets on the right and left mandibular heads.

In the right TMJ the disk is slightly anteriorly dislocated. The anterior dislocation is more evident on the left TMJ, with the head of the mandible backed on the retrodiscal  zone.

MRI T1: Sagittal slice, left and right TMJ open mouth before treatment.

We can observe anterior facets on both mandibular heads.

Both mandibular condyles cannot translate, reducing mouth opening.

Initial kinesiographic record: loss of speed when the patient opens and closes his mouth. There is no coincidence between the opening and closing trajectories in the sagittal view of the record. Limited mouth opening as the patient can open only 32.9 mm.

Surface electromyography of the patient in habitual occlusion in which are measured:

Anterior right and left temporalis

Right and left masseter

Right and left digastrics

Right and left superior trapezius

Activation of the digastrics in closure, these muscles should only must be in activity along the opening movement

During the examination there was an activation of the right and left upper trapezius even when the patient was instructed to lower his shoulders.He had activated both trapezius throughout the examination.

The patient reports pain in the left ear and sensation of ear blockage, especially on the left side. He also has tinnitus and DECREASE OF HEARING IN BOTH EARS.

ANY HEARING LOSS REPORTED BY THE PATIENT MUST BE EVIDENCED BY AN AUDIOMETRY.

An audiogram is produced by using a relative measure of the patient hearing as compared with an established “normal “value. It is a graphic representation of auditory threshold responses that are obtained from testing a patient’s hearing with pure-tone stimuli. The parameters of the audiogram are frequency, as measured in cycles per second (HZ) and intensity, as measured in dB­­­­.

The first audiometry of the patient revealed a mild hearing loss in the left ear and a moderate hearing loss in his right ear.

Symptoms of mild hearing loss occurring in childhood often go unnoticed. It is vital the early detection of this deficiency.

Hearing loss is classified as mild, in which the ear is unable to detect sounds below 40 decibels which makes it  difficult to understand human speech.

In moderate loss, the sounds below 70 decibels are not heard.

We recorded the mandibular rest position after electronic deprogramming, together with the information of the MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to orient our decisions of the bite registration, for the three-dimensional construction of the DIO (intraoral device).

The patient has a pathological free space of 8.6 mm and 8 mm of mandibular retro position.

The degree of compression determinates de reaction of the patient.

The retrusion of the mandible, whether it is iatrogenically induced, or a result of malocclusion, often results in otalgia due to excessive compression of the neurovascular retrodiscal tissues. The patient’s impression is ear pain.

I informed the parents of the patient, that at this stage, I was only worried about the health of the patient, and focused on  improving the functions, the symptoms and controlling the conductive hearing loss.

Hearing loss resulting from Eustachian tube dysfunction, initiated by craniomandibular disorders is usually subjective.

For this reason there is a need for an objective control by audiometry.

 I explained that I would not make any orthodontic intervention at this stage to include in the arcade the canine that was misaligned and out of space. I told them  that I would take care of it later and in this case I would not have the need to extract teeth.

The installed device is controlled through surface electromyography to evaluate the function.

Patient’s second audiometry  shows normal thresholds in the left ear and a mild hearing loss in his right ear.

Comparing the first and second audiometry of the patient during treatment.

Thresholds normalization of the right ear and thresholds improvement of the left ear.

Structural lesions may produce functional changes which in turn increases the structural changes.

Structural and functional changes.

Even a decompressed joint, takes time to recover

Some structural lesions can be recovered, but  OTHERS CANNOT.

Even a decompressed joint, takes time to recover

Some structural lesions can be recovered, but OTHERS CANNOT.

It takes time to stabilize the muscles during treatment, different patients, different ages and different pathologies.

Patient’s third audiometry shows NORMAL thresholds in the left ear and NORMAL thresholds in his right ear.

Comparing the first, second and third audiometry of the patient during treatment.
Thresholds normalization in the right and left ear.

At this time with the normalization of the conductive hearing loss, the remission of symptoms and improvement of the images from the exams, we began the second phase through a three-dimensional orthodontics.

Sequence of the three-dimensional orthodontic in the second stage of treatment of TMJ disorders in this particular patient. REMEMBER THAT NOT EVERY CASE WILL ALLOW THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SECOND STAGE.

Sequence of the three-dimensional orthodontic in the second stage of treatment of TMJ disorders in this particular patient. REMEMBER THAT NOT EVERY CASE WILL ALLOW THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SECOND STAGE.

Patient’s lateral radiograph together with the profile image during treatment.

Aesthetic and not retrognathic profile as at the beginning of treatment.

There was not a recovery of the physiological lordosis, but there surely was an improvement of the cervical spine.

Sequence of the three-dimensional orthodontic in the second stage of treatment of TMJ disorders in this particular patient. REMEMBER THAT NOT EVERY CASE WILL ALLOW THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SECOND STAGE.

Sequence of the three-dimensional orthodontic in the second stage of treatment of TMJ disorders in this particular patient. REMEMBER THAT NOT EVERY CASE WILL ALLOW THE IMPLEMENTATION OF A SECOND STAGE.

Removal of the DIO (intra oral device) at the current stage of the three-dimensional orthodontics.

Images without the DIO (intraoral device) and completion of the treatment of the three-dimensional orthodontic in neurophysiological occlusion.

Comparative images of the upper and lower oclusal views from the patient before and after completion of the first and the second phase of the neurophysiologic treatment.

The fourth audiometry of the patient after completion of the two phases of treatment maintains the normal thresholds in both the left ear and the right ear.

Part of the sequence of the three-dimensional orthodontics in the second stage of the treatment of TMJ disorders in this particular patient.

Comparative panoramic radiographs: before treatment and after completion of the three-dimensional orthodontics.

Comparative of lateral radiographs of the patient: at the beginning of the treatment in habitual occlusion, after the  completion of the three-dimensional orthodontic in neurophysiological occlusion and six years after the completion of treatment control.

Patient’s kinesiographic records comparison: before and after treatment.

The mouth opening  of the patient improved from 32.9 mm to 38.9 mm and it also reached an excellent speed regarding  mouth opening and closing.

Patient’s electromyography records comparison: before, during and after treatment.

Patient’s kinesiographic records after electronically mandibular deprogramming comparison: before treatment the habitual trajectory is not coincident with the neuromuscular trajectory.

After treatment the habitual trajectory is tridimensional coincident with the neuromuscular trajectory.

Comparing the first, second, third and forth  audiometry of the patient.
Thresholds normalization of right and left ear.

Various physical and psychological activities of children and adolescents may be affected due to hearing impairment. The conductive hearing loss resulting from Eustachian tube dysfunction INITIATED BY  TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS  is OFTEN NOT CONSIDERED.

It is vital the early detection of this deficiency.

When the patient ended all the treatment, and being still a teenager, he left the following testament:

My dentist referred me to the orthodontist because I had a crooked canine. So, after a panoramic radiograph she suspected that I could have a TMJ problem. Then she referred me to Porto Alegre to do a MRI, and from that exam it was found something that indicated a TMJ problem. So then I started the tratment with Dr. Lidia Yavich, that also investigated the tinnitus and my hearing problem.

When I was little I felt and hit the chin but my parents didn’t know that it could affect my TMJ.

I suffered a lot from an earache and sore throat. I had even scheduled an ear surgery but after six months of treatment it was no longer necessary to do it. Today I am doing well. I have a good hearing and I don’t have any more the tinnitus and the throat pain. I am happy with this treatment, thanks to God and to Dra. Lidia Yavich.

Here follows the testimony of the same patient seven years after the completion of the treatment:

Today, more than seven years after the end of the TMJ treatment with Dr. Lidia, and thanks to the God-given gifts to her, I haven’t been suffering any more with the earaches nor with the throat pain or the hearing loss. I had had, before the treatment, the indication to make an ear operation since I was loosing my hearing and that was not necessary with the TMJ treatment because during the treatment I was monitorated by exams that had proven that my hearing improved. Today I live a normal life, without having problems with those things from the past. I thanks the treatment done by Dr. Lidia which has healed me and improved my life.