title: Temporomandibular joint multidisciplinary team clinic.
abstract: Patients with dysfunction of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) commonly present to oral and maxillofacial departments and are increasingly being managed by a subspecialist group of surgeons. We review the outcomes of patients attending a specialist TMJ multidisciplinary team (MDT) clinic. All patients are simultaneously reviewed by a consultant oral and maxillofacial surgeon, consultant in oral medicine, specialist physiotherapist, and maxillofacial prosthetist, and they can also see a consultant liaison psychiatrist. They are referred from primary, secondary, and tertiary care when medical and surgical treatment in the routine TMJ clinic has failed, and are triaged by the attending maxillofacial surgeon. On discharge they are returned to the care of the referring practitioner. We review the outcomes of patients attending this clinic over a 2-year period and show improvements in pain scores and maximal incisal opening, as well as quality of life outcome measures. All units in the UK with an interest in the management of diseases of the TMJ should consider establishing this type of clinic and should use available resources and expertise to maximise outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, London. Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Nabeela
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ahmed
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, London. Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Poate
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, London. Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Nacher-Garcia
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, London. Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pugh
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, London. Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Helen
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cowgill
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, London. Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Page
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King's College Hospital, London. Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS, UK. Electronic address: shaun.matthews@nhs.net.
authors.forename: N Shaun
authors.initials: NS
authors.lastname: Matthews
mesh_terms: D015670:Acupuncture Therapy; D003740:Dental Clinics; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000628:therapy; D006801:Humans; D019242:Oral Medicine; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010348:Patient Care Team; D059825:Physical Therapists; D026741:Physical Therapy Modalities; D011570:Psychiatry; D011788:Quality of Life; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D013515:Surgery, Oral; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: MDT; TMJ