Temporomandibular dysfunction assessment in children treated with the Hall Technique: A pilot study.

Background: The Hall technique (HT) involves the placement of stainless steel crowns for treating asymptomatic carious primary teeth without tooth preparation or caries excavation.

Aim: To investigate whether temporomandibular dysfunction (TM-D) manifests in children after HT.

Design: Healthy children (age: 5-9 years) with dentin caries were treated with HT in a university clinic, and TM-D signs and symptoms were monitored in this cohort clinical trial. The primary outcome was TM-D signs recorded using the clinical dysfunction index (Di) at pre-treatment: 0-, 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month follow-up visits. The secondary outcome was TM-D symptoms recorded using a questionnaire. The Di and symptoms were compared over time using McNemar's tests.

Results: Thirty-nine children were followed for 12 months after HT treatment. Four children were detected as having dysfunction signs throughout the study: muscle pain on palpation and clicking. The symptoms 'hearing a sound within the jaw joint' or 'bite felt uncomfortable or unusual' were reported by another four children. The Di and TM-D symptoms were not significantly different between pre-treatment and follow-up visits (P > .05).

Conclusions: The HT does not seem to be connected to TM-D. Alternative TM-D assessment tools for studying non-persistent symptoms more comprehensively might be useful for future studies.