Management of the Most Common Type of Anterior Temporomandibular Joint Dislocation: A Systematic Review

This review describes the most common and standardized management approach for anterior TMJ dislocation in recent times.

The authors used “Pubmed” to search relevant articles written in English. Several keywords like “temporomandibular joint”, “dislocation”, “anterior” “surgical management”, conservative management”, “articular eminence” “articular disc” and “recent methods” are used for the search.

Abstracts and full articles were used to identify causes & pathophysiology, advanced procedure for conservative & surgical managements of temporomandibular joint dislocations.

only those articles dealt with temporomandibular joint dislocations & its management were selected.

Temporomandibular Joint(TMJ) dislocation results when the condylar head of the mandible is displaced beyond the articular eminence anteriorly. Anterior dislocation of TMJ is more common than the superior, lateral, and posterior dislocation of the condyle. It is associated with thelimitation of mobility due to pain, hence patients find it very difficult in performing the essential functions (speaking, chewing). Therefore, it is very important to reduce the dislocation as early as possible to prevent the difficulty in reduction in delayed case and to reduce the risk of recurrences. This will have negative impact on the quality of life of the sufferer and lead to subsequent damage to the TMJ in the long run.