Craniomandibular Dysfunction: Examination

A comprehensive clinical examination is the basis for selecting further diagnostic steps:

  • General physical examination – including blood pressure, pulse, body weight, height; further:
    • Inspection (viewing).
      • Skin (normal: intact; abrasions/wounds, redness, hematomas (bruises), scars) and mucous membranes.
      • Gait (fluid, limping).
      • Body or joint posture (upright, bent, gentle posture).
      • Malpositions (deformities, contractures, shortenings).
      • Muscle atrophies (side comparison!, if necessary circumference measurements).
      • Joint incl. inspection of the range of motion of the temporomandibular joint (abrasions/wounds, swelling (tumor), redness (rubor), hyperthermia (calor); injury indications such as hematoma formation, arthritic joint lumpiness, leg axis assessment).
    • Palpation (palpation) of vertebral bodies, tendons, ligaments; musculature (tone, tenderness, contractures of paraverebral muscles); soft tissue swelling; tenderness (localization! ); restricted mobility (spinal movement restrictions); “tapping signs” (testing for painfulness of spinous processes, transverse processes, and costotransverse joints (vertebral-rib joints) and back muscles); illiosacral joints (sacroiliac joint) (pressure and tapping pain?; compression pain, anterior, lateral, or saggital); hyper- or hypomobility?
    • Palpation of prominent bone points, tendons, ligaments; musculature; joint (joint effusion?); soft tissue swelling; tenderness (localization!).
    • Dental examination including functional tests (functional analysis):
      • Inspection or examination: dental hard tissues, static and dynamic occlusion, periodontium, masticatory and accessory muscles, temporomandibular joints.
      • Functional examination of the craniomandibular system (clinical functional analysis) in the presence of suspected functional dental, temporomandibular joint and muscle diseases.
    • ENT medical examination (co-diagnosis of tinnitus / ear noise).
  • Health check

Square brackets [ ] indicate possible pathological (pathological) physical findings.