Retrospective Evaluation of the Duration of Arthrocentesis in the Treatment of Temporomandibular Joint Diseases

Abstract Objective This study investigated the duration of arthrocentesis in treatment of patients with different diagnoses of temporomandibular disorders. Methods This retrospective study evaluated the duration of arthrocentesis used for 65 patients who were diagnosed with osteoarthritis (OA), disc displacement with reduction (DDWR), or disc displacement without reduction (DDWoR), in accordance with the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders protocol. Results Mean operation times were 18.13 min in OA patients, 19.02 min in DDWR patients, and 24.86 min in DDWoR patients; these significantly differed among groups (p Conclusion The appropriate duration of arthrocentesis may vary among joint disorders, and the duration of arthrocentesis in DDWoR treatment is longer than that in DDWR and OA treatments. In addition there was no relationship between the age or gender and operation time of the patients.Changes in anatomic structures due to temporomandibular diseases are presumed to influence the duration of arthrocentesis treatment.