Prof. Dr. Korkmaz Sayınsu

Temporomandibular Joint and Occlusion: A journey from analog to digital in diagnosis and treatment planning.

The treatment of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders is carried out by a team of experts from different disciplines. Dentists in this team deal with the chewing system, which is directly related to TMJ disorders. It is very important to analyze the teeth and occlusion, which are the most important components of the chewing system, in order to make the correct differential diagnosis, which has a crucial role in the success of the treatment.

Disharmony is observed in the occlusions of many patients with TMJ disorders. However, occlusion is not the only etiological factor for the occurrence of TMJ disorders. Therefore, the analysis of the occlusion should be done in detail in order to determine whether the patient's current problem is related to the occlusion. In this direction, a number of tools are used in the clinic and laboratory. Many of these tools, which have been used in the field of dentistry for many years, have been replaced by state-of-the-art modern devices and software that increase our efficiency and facilitate our workflow. Thus, digital workflow has started to be used instead of analog workflow in our clinics.

In this presentation, which analog and digital methods we use in our clinic in the diagnosis and treatment planning of cases with TMJ disorders, the advantages and disadvantages of the methods will be explained comparatively with case reports.