Myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome. You start your day, every day, with a sore jaw. Sometimes the pain is severe, at other times it’s a dull throbbing up into your head. What can you do to get rid of it?

That’s what a pair of researchers from Tufts University’s School of Dental Medicine and Columbia University’s School of Dental and Oral Surgery decided to test. They treated 53 patients with a diagnosis of chronic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome.

All of the patients had four symptoms in common:
1.    Pain and fatigue in the masseter and temporal muscles responsible for closing the jaw.
2.    Tension in the jaw on waking.
3.    Difficulty chewing certain foods.
4.    Nocturnal bruxism, or clenching and grinding of teeth while sleeping.

Additionally, examination revealed that all of the subjects also had molars that didn’t fit together properly, leading to a lack of anterior (front of the mouth) guidance when chewing and talking. Many of the test group had nearly perfect vertical tooth relationships after undergoing orthodontic therapy, but the grinding surfaces of their teeth were mismatched.

All patients were treated with “occlusial equilibration,” or the filing of chewing and biting surfaces of their teeth, to establish anterior guidance. Three appointments with one-week intervals were allocated per patient.

Most myofascial pain dysfunction symptoms had gone away by 5 to 7 days later. Total alleviation of symptoms was gained in most patients by three weeks after the procedure. Better yet, a follow-up four years later showed that everyone who had undergone the treatments was free of chronic pain and other symptoms.

Treatment of myofascial pain-dysfunction syndrome with occlusal equilibration, by Robert B. Kerstein D.M.D. and Shannon Farrell. Available online 29 March 2005 in Science Direct.