Temporomandibular Joint Disorders Treated With Articular Injection: The Effectiveness of Plasma Rich in Growth Factors-Endoret

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) osteoarthritis treatment through articular injections of plasma rich in growth factors (PGRF)-Endoret. Thirteen patients (median age, 47.64 y; SD, 7.51; range, 40-64 y; male-female ratio, 2: 11) with osteoarthritis of TMJ associated to chronic pain have been selected. They were treated with articular injections of PRGF-Endoret, measuring the maximum mouth opening and pain level before the first injection (t(0)), 30 days after just before the second (t(1)), and after 6 months (t(2)). Data were analyzed using the paired Student's t-test data. The visual analogue scale score at t(0) is 7.69 (range, 4-10; SD, 1.9), whereas that at t(1) is 1.54 (range, 0-5; SD, 1.74) and that at t(2) is 0.23 (range, 0-2; SD, 0.65). These differences in the results are statistically highly significant (P< 0.0001 comparison t(0) - t(1) and t(0) - t(2) and P< 0.01 comparison t(1) - t(2)). In terms of maximum mouth opening, it reduced from 30.15 mm at t(0) (range, 26-40 mm; SD, 4.44) to 37.54 mm at t(1) (range, 31-51mm; SD, 5.10), with an increase of 7.38mm(range, 4-11 mm; SD, 2.02) and a highly significant difference (P< 0.0001). At t(2), it was 39.54 mm (range, 34-51; SD, 4.55) with an increase of 9.38 mm (range, 5-12 mm; SD, 2.21) compared with t(0) and that of 2.00 mm compared with t(1). Both differences in the results are statistically significant (P< 0.0001 and P< 0.01, respectively). The articular injections of PRGF-Endoret represent a very efficient method to control pain and to improve the TMJ mobility.