UNIVERSALDENT®

MPDS (Muscle Pain Dysfunction Syndrome)

Dr. Serdar Gözler

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Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS) is a stomatognathic system disturbance, which consists of pain, jaw movement irregularities, and muscle spasms. Hyperexcitation of peripheral sensory neurons causes a reaction of induction in the motor neuron and then spasms of the masticatory muscles follow. The long-term spasm causes muscular pain and irregular mandibular motion. Pain is the most important inducer and therefore must be managed firstly in order to manage the muscle spasms. Symptomatic treatment approaches may be useful, but after symptom elimination, etiologically based treatment must be provided to the patient. The neurophysiology of the stomatognathic system must be well understood to determine a proper treatment for the MPDS condition. Both symptomatic and etiological treatment methods have been proposed by different authors as potential solutions for MPDS. Occlusal splints are a commonly used treatment for relieving MPDS symptoms. Alternatively, some forms of occlusal adjustment (not all) have been shown to be an effective, permanent treatment course for myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome. This chapter describes the neural controls over the stomatognathic system and how that system can neurologically promote the MPDS disease state. It then details the computer-guided MPDS occlusal adjustment treatment known as disclusion time reduction that has been shown in many published studies to be a highly effective myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS) therapy.  More.....