Clinical Outcomes of root canal retreatment in Patients with temporomandibular joint disorder
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22811991Keywords:
temporomandibular disorder, root canal retreatment, orofacial pain, nonodontogenic toothache, TMDAbstract

Background: Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) is common among patients presenting for endodontic care, and root canal retreatment occurs in a population where the two conditions overlap more than chance predicts.
Objective: This review synthesizes evidence on TMD prevalence among endodontic patients, mechanisms linking temporomandibular and dental pain, benchmark retreatment outcomes, and modifiers specific to comorbid TMD.
Methods: We synthesized systematic reviews of retreatment outcome, prospective and retrospective cohorts, epidemiological studies using validated DC/TMD criteria, and studies of referred orofacial pain and occlusal factors.
Findings: Painful TMD affects 54% of endodontic pain patients versus a pooled global prevalence of 29.5% [5,6]; post-treatment pain is often nonodontogenic [7]; nonsurgical retreatment achieves healing in roughly 74-88% of cases [15,11]; comorbid TMD patients report higher early postoperative pain [8].
Conclusions: No cohort has stratified retreatment outcome by TMD status; screening before retreatment and reassessing the joint when symptoms persist after successful retreatment is the most defensible approach.
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