Pharmacologic treatments for temporomandibular disorders

Drugs are widely used in the management of acute and chronic orofacial pain. Whereas the use of analgesics for acute orofacial pain is well documented through hundreds of controlled clinical trials, the use of a broad spectrum of drugs for chronic pain is based on very few studies. In the absence of data supporting a therapeutic benefit for a drug used chronically for pain, toxicity associated with the drug can still occur. It is critical, therefore, to assess the balance between therapeutic benefit and safety. This article reviews current evidence supporting the use of several drug classes for temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and identifies therapeutic controversies in need of further research.