Ortodontia como Tratamento da Disfunção Temporomandibular: Determinação do Nível de Evidência Científica da Literatura

Abstract

Objective: To identify the scientific evidence available on orthodontics as a treatment for Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), by means of a critical literature review. Material and Methods: It was used an inductive approach, statistical- comparative procedure and direct documentation technique. Literature searches were conducted using the key-word “temporomandibular disorder and orthodontics treatment” in the databases: PubMed, CAPES, BBO, Scielo and Cochrane. The data collected and analyzed descriptively were: Scientific Evidence Level (SEL) and study type. Results: From a total of 1,035 scientific papers found and published between 2000 and 2010, 38 studies were selected. SEL general average of the papers was 5.5 As regards the scientific evidence level, 28.94% (n=11) of the studies were classified as level 5 – observational studies; 23.68% (n=9) were level 8 – randomized clinical trial; and 47.38% were included among the levels 1, 4, 10, 9, 6 and 2. Conclusion: The scientific evidence level found for the relationship between orthodontics and TMD treatment was low.