Treatment of Edentulous Patients With Temporomandibular Disorders With Implant-Supported Overdentures

Treatment of edentulous patients who have temporomandibular disorders is difficult because of the poor stability of their conventional complete dentures. With an implant-supported bar and a clip-to-bar overdenture, mandibular dentures can be stabilized. The results of a prospective clinical study of 10 edentulous patients with temporomandibular disorders and treatment with implant-supported overdentures in mandibles are presented. Before and after 3 years of wearing the implant-supported overdentures, patients were interviewed and a clinical functional analysis was taken. Patients with displacement of the articular disc or bone destruction of the joints had a decrease in pain, an enhanced mobility of the mandible, and a decrease in temporomandibular joint sounds. Patients with pain of muscular genesis as a result of bruxism suffered after 3 years from the same pain and did not show an improvement of muscle or joint sensitivity. Keywords: edentulous patients, implant supported overdentures, temporomandibular disorders