Infrared thermography assessment of patients with temporomandibular disorders

Abstract

Objectives: To assess patients with and without temporomandibular disorders (TMD) infrared thermography according to the differences in thermal radiance using quantitative sensitivity and specificity tests; and to evaluate the thermal asymmetry and the correlation of the thermal intensity with the intensity of pain upon palpation. Methods: This cross-sectional study performed a quantitative evaluation of clinical and thermographic examinations. The volunteers were evaluated for the presence of TMD using RDC/TMD (Diagnostic Research Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders), and were divided into two groups: TMD group (n = 45); control group (n = 41), composed of volunteers without TMD, according to the Fonseca Anamnestic Index. The images were assessed for selected regions of interest for the masseter, anterior temporal and TMJ muscles. The mean values ​​of the areas of both groups were compared under the receiver operating characteristic curve. Spearman correlation analysis (non-parametric data) between pain level and mean temperature, by region, and the Pearson's χ2 test was used to verify the association between the presence of temperature and pain asymmetry. The level of significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Both Groups, with and without TMD, presented with absolute and non-dimensional mean temperature without statistical differences (p>0.05). When correlating temperature with intensity of pain upon palpation, a negative correlation was observed for the masseter muscle. Conclusion: Infrared Thermography resulted in low area under the curve, making it difficult to differentiate TMD via thermographic analysis. The intensity of pain upon palpation in patients with TMD may be accompanied by a decrease in local temperature.

Stimulation of Myofascial Trigger Points in the Sternocleidomastoid Evokes Facial Thermal Response Correlated with the Referred Pain

“…The use of thermographic examination in the diagnosis of TMDs have been largely investigated in the literature [26][27][28][29], and several studies focused on myogenous pain [20,25] but only a few studies applied superimposition of ROI images [18,30]. A recent survey also assessed that facial nerve function is one of the possible biomedical applications of infrared thermography [31].…”

Aplicabilidade da termografia infravermelha na odontologia: Uma revisão integrativa

“…Entretanto, Barbosa et al 2020, e Melo et al 2019, destacaram em seus estudos a baixa acurácia e a escassez na literatura quanto à confiabilidade do uso da termografia na DTM, respectivamente. Barbosa et al2020, identificaram também que pacientes com DTM não apresentam diferenças assimétricas de temperatura nas regiões de interesses analisadas e que a intensidade da dor à palpação em pacientes com DTM pode ser acompanhada por uma diminuição da temperatura local de acordo com os parâmetros térmicos.…”

“…O uso da termografia pode ser útil para um correto diagnóstico, sendo utilizado como um exame complementar ao exame físico, auxiliando significativamente também no acompanhamento de terapias e podendo ser realizado em qualquer faixa etária (Brioschi,2011). É potencialmente indicado para documentar doenças de tecidos moles, sendo evidenciada também sua importância na medicina do esporte, doenças ligadas a dores musculares como mialgias, bem como doenças reumáticas como artrose, apresentando uma visualização anatômica das estruturas, sendo possível analisar os aspectos fisiológicos da região e é realizada em um ambiente com temperatura controlada (Brioschi,2011;Barbosa et al,2020).…”

Diagnosis of Temporomandibular Disorders Using Thermovision Imaging

“…Also, the research by Barbosa et al [52] defined the infrared thermography as a rather difficult tool to differentiate TMD because of no significant association between the presence of temperature and pain asymmetry. e main conclusion of the research was that the use of infrared thermography in a day-by-day clinical environment may not be as easy as it seems.…”

“…e surface temperature of the skin can also be affected by, among others, the day of the menstrual cycle for women, taking hot or spicy dishes, and emotional state. e patient must follow meticulously the professional's instructions for image acquisition, avoiding hot beverages, hot baths, exercises, and other activities or substances that can affect their microcirculation before infrared thermography image acquisition [52].…”