Efficacy of an Early Biopsychosocial Intervention for Patients with Acute Temporomandibular Disorder-Related Pain: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study

A long-term follow-up (LTF) study was conducted to further evaluate the efficacy of a biopsychosocial intervention for acute high risk (HR) temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. Subjects from Gatchel and colleagues' one-year outcome study (Gatchel, Stowell, Wildenstein, Riggs,&Ellis, 2006) were contacted to assess pain and psychosocial measures at LTF (two to six years post intake). An early-intervention (EI) group had received cognitive behavioral skills training and biofeedback, while a nonintervention group (NI) had received no intervention. Similar to one-year follow-up findings, EI group subjects had significantly lower levels of self-reported pain and depression at LTF as compared to intake. The EI group was also associated with significantly lower pain and depression scores, relative to the NI group. EI group subjects continued to show a decreasing trend on jaw pain-related health care visits relative to NI group subjects, providing further evidence for reduced costs associated with early interventions. The present study supports and extends the findings of the earlier one-year outcome study, indicating that an early biopsychosocial intervention is beneficial for patients with acute TMD. By receiving treatment during the acute stage of TMD, patients are less likely to develop chronic TMD, and to be impacted long-term by the physical, emotional and financial aspects of TMD.