TMJ

Myofascial pain dysfunction (MPD) is one of the most common causes of chronic orofacial pain, primarily affecting the masticatory muscles such as the masseter and temporalis. It leads to facial pain, muscle tenderness, and restricted mouth opening, significantly impacting patients' quality of life and daily function. Despite the wide range of conservative treatment modalities-such as medications, splint therapy, and physiotherapy-there is still no universally accepted approach that provides consistent and long-lasting relief. Low-level laser therapy (LLLT) and therapeutic ultrasound (US) are two non-invasive physical modalities frequently used in dentistry for pain control and tissue healing. Each has shown promising outcomes individually. Azizi et al. (2007) demonstrated that LLLT at 780 nm can significantly reduce pain and tenderness for up to three months, while Khairy (2018) reported notable pain relief and improved jaw function using pulsed ultrasound at 1.5 W/cm² for 5 minutes over 10 sessions. However, direct comparative evidence between LLLT and therapeutic ultrasound in patients with myofascial pain dysfunction is still lacking. This knowledge gap prevents clinicians from identifying which modality offers superior short- and long-term outcomes in terms of pain reduction, muscle function improvement, and patient satisfaction. Therefore, this study aims to compare the efficacy of low-level laser therapy versus therapeutic ultrasound in the management of myofascial pain dysfunction, using standardized treatment parameters from the most evidence-based protocols in the literature.

This description observational research is comparative in design, that is comparing existing standard clinical dental images, not obtained in this study, to test (i.e., ddMRI) images. The standard clinical dental images consist of radiographs, such as bitewings, periapical, panoramic, cone-beam CT, and medical CT, as well medical MRIs of the temporomandibular joints (TMJ).The conceptualization of research questions, study designing, and interpretation of imaging data has and will involve content expertise in all ddMRI research.

The aim of the present study is to show that the use of 0.55T MRI combined with a "dental" coil produces images of sufficient diagnostic value to assess areas of interest in dentistry, and to compare MR images to traditional, dental-oriented radiographic images for diagnostic purposes.

This clinical trial aims to investigate whether treatment of temporomandibular joint disorder with a stabilizing occlusal splint is justified to alleviate somatosensory tinnitus. The main questions we aim to answer are: * Determine if treatment of temporomandibular disorder with a stabilizing occlusal splint improves somatosensory tinnitus. * Identify which patient-related, tinnitus-related, and temporomandibular disorder-related factors contribute to the therapeutic effect.