Management of temporomandibular disorders: evidence-based ethical and medicolegal considerations

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a frequent finding in cases of facial trauma or dental malpractice, and legal claims for TMD damage have increased over the years. TMD treatment in the medical legal setting is complicated by the peculiarities of these disorders, whose symptoms are heterogeneous, fluctuant, and recognize a multifactorial origin. A systematic Medline search in the National Library of Medicine's Pubmed database pointed out that despite the medical legal aspects of the dental profession gaining a growing attention, there is a paucity of literature dealing with TMD patients' assessment. For these reasons, evidence-based knowledge in the field of TMD treatment was summarized in the present paper, with the aim of providing useful suggestions for a medical legal approach to temporomandibular disorders. Keywords: diagnosis, ethics, forensic medicine, legal medicine, temporomandibular disorders, treatment