Long-Term Prognosis and Influencing Factors of Chinese Adolescents With Temporomandibular Disorder After Physical Therapy

Background: Physical therapy is the preferred conservative treatment for patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD). However, few studies have investigated the application of physical therapy in adolescents, especially follow-up studies on the long-term prognosis of these patients. This study investigated the short-term effects and long-term prognosis of physical therapy in adolescent patients with TMD and the factors influencing long-term symptoms. Methods: Information regarding baseline data, specific treatment methods, treatment times and evaluation results was collected retrospectively for adolescent patients with TMD who received physical therapy. Patients were followed up via telephone and online questionnaires, and the influence of age, sex, disease course, mouth opening, pain intensity, oral parafunctional habits and treatment methods on long-term symptoms was analysed. Results: Pain intensity, maximum mouth opening and the joint noise score improved significantly in 270/286 patients who received individualised comprehensive physical therapy. TMD-related symptoms improved with no noticeable impact on daily life in 187/199 patients who were followed up for an extended period (average, 30.71 +/- 10.86 months) and were divided into asymptomatic or symptomatic groups according to the persistence of symptoms. Logistic regression analysis revealed that uncorrected oral parafunctional habits and fewer treatments were related to long-term symptoms. Conclusion: The long-term prognosis of adolescent patients with TMD after physical therapy was satisfactory. However, 52.8% of the patients experienced persistent TMD-related symptoms for an extended period, possibly due to insufficient treatment times and parafunctional habits. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05781607.