Telemedicine as an effective tool for the management of temporomandibular joint disorders.

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a store-and-forward telemedicine system (SFTMS) as an optimal method for the selection, diagnosis and treatment of patients with TMJ disorders (TMJD) referred from primary care sites to the Maxillofacial Surgery Unit (hospital-based).

Materials And Methods: A multicenter, analytical, quasi-experimental, non-randomized clinical study of a SFTMS aimed towards the management of patients with TMJD was conducted at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Unit of the Virgen Macarena University Hospital (Seville, Spain) and 10 primary care areas of the North area of Seville located between 15 and 180 km from the hospital. The study was carried out between January 2008 and February 2010 including a non-random sample consisting of all patients with TMJD treated at primary care sites during the study period.