Two-needle vs. single-needle technique for TMJ arthrocentesis plus hyaluronic acid injections: a comparative trial over a six-month follow up

The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of five weekly two-needle arthrocentesis plus hyaluronic injections vs. the same protocol performed with a single-needle technique in patients with inflammatory-degenerative disorders of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). 80 patients with TMJ osteoarthritis were randomly assigned to the two-needle or single-needle protocol and followed up for 6 months after treatment. Several outcome parameters, such as maximum pain at rest and maximum pain on chewing, subjective chewing efficiency, limitation in jaw function, jaw range of motion in mm, were recorded at baseline and multiple follow up assessments. Both treatment groups recorded significant improvement with respect to baseline levels in almost all outcome variables. The rate of improvement was not significantly different between the treatment protocols in any of the outcome variables (p-values between 0.143 and 0.970). No between-group differences emerged for the perceived subjective efficacy (p = 0.321) and the treatment tolerability (p = 0.783). The present investigation did not support the existence of significant differences in the treatment effectiveness for inflammatory-degenerative TMJ disorders of a cycle of five weekly injections of arthrocentesis plus hyaluronic acid injections performed according to the classical two-needle or the single-needle technique.