title: Influencing factor on the prognosis of arthrocentesis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this article is to evaluate factors influencing prognosis of arthrocentesis in patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorder.
  
  
  METHODS
  The subjects included 145 patients treated with arthrocentesis at the Dental Center of Ajou University Hospital from 2011 to 2013 for the purpose of recovering mouth opening limitation (MOL) and pain relief. Prognosis of arthrocentesis was evaluated 1 month after the operation. Improvement on MOL was defined as an increase from below 30 mm (MOL ≤30 mm) to above 40 mm (MOL ≥40 mm), and pain relief was defined as when a group with TMJ pain with a visual analog scale (VAS) score of 4 or more (VAS ≥4) decreased to a score of 3 or more. The success of arthrocentesis was determined when either mouth opening improved or pain relief was fulfilled. To determine the factors influencing the success of arthrocentesis, the patients were classified by age, gender, diagnosis group (the anterior disc displacement without reduction group, the anterior disc displacement with reduction group, or other TMJ disorders group), time of onset and oral habits (clenching, bruxism) to investigate the correlations between these factors and prognosis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred twenty out of 145 patients who underwent arthrocentesis (83.4%) were found to be successful. Among the influencing factors mentioned above, age, diagnosis and time of onset had no statistically significant correlation with the success of arthrocentesis. However, a group of patients in their fifties showed a lower success rate (ANOVA P=0.053) and the success rate of the group with oral habits was 71% (Pearson's chi-square test P=0.035).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  From this study, we find that factors influencing the success of arthrocentesis include age and oral habits. We also conclude that arthrocentesis is effective in treating mouth opening symptoms and for pain relief.
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Dentistry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Yoon Ho
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Dentistry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Min
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Dentistry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Kang Mi
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Pang
authors.affiliation: Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Department of Dentistry, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Il
authors.initials: SI
authors.lastname: Song
keywords: Arthrocentesis; Prognostic factors; Temporomandibular joint