Abstract
Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of the technique and the longevity of the results obtained through the combination of minimally invasive surgical procedure of TMJ arthrocentesis combined with a single injection of high-molecular weight sodium hyaluronate (SH). Methods: A randomised clinical trial. The experimental unit was composed of 14 patients. The factor under study was time in five levels: Baseline, T1 (1 week), T2 (30 days), T3 (90 days), and T4 (6 months). The response variables were: pain, visual analogue scale (VAS) (0-10) (quantitative variable), joint noise (presence and absence) (nominal qualitative variable), and mouth opening (mm) (quantitative variable). Results: All pain values were significantly lower when compared with the baseline values, regardless of the evaluated side (p = 0.05). For mouth opening measurements (mm), there was no significant statistical difference in mean mouth opening over time (p = 0.28). There was no significant statistical difference (p = 0.05) for joint noise. Conclusion: A single injection of high-molecular weight SH after two-needle arthrocentesis seems to be an efficient treatment option for patients with no improvement after conservative treatment.