REFLEX EFFECTS PRODUCED BY ABNORMAL MOVEMENT OF THE LOWER JAW

Abstract

Study of the pain effects and the reflex irritative functions in 400 cases in which destruction of the mandibular joint was suspected has made possible a fair standardization of the symptoms associated with this change. At first cases were selected in which pains simulated those of diseased nasal sinuses, and subjective symptoms related to the hearing mechanism were included. A syndrome¹ was proposed to embrace the symptoms related to dysfunction of the temporomandibular joints. As the number of cases increased in which proper balance of the occlusion relieved the primary pain symptoms, other complaints, such as burning sensations in the tongue and pharynx, salivary disturbances and herpetic eruptions in the buccal mucosa and external ear, assumed more importance. In a study of the etiology of glossodynia,² these symptoms were mentioned as present in about 10 per cent of cases of the syndrome. This proportion has greatly increased as