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This paper provides a method to evaluate the extent of permanent injury to the temporomandibular joint. The authors, working as the Committee on Permanent Impairment for the American Academy of Head, Facial, Neck Pain and TMJ Orthopedics, have used the same values as the American Medical Association has used in their Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment for other disk-protected and functional joints. These Guides may then serve as a tool to help physicians and dentists who treat temporomandibular joint injuries to rate the degree of permanent injury. These Guides may be combined with other areas of impairment that are already described and valued in the Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment published by the AMA. These Guides provide a range and each injury should be evaluated on an individual basis. We urge you to use these Guides conservatively and in harmony with good clinical judgement.

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dsyfunction is described and a historical perspective of the disorder is presented. A review of research related to symptoms, incidence, correlates, and causes of TMJ dysfunction in children is presented. Factors regarding identification are discussed, and treatment options are outlined. The purpose of this article is to increase the awareness of school health personnel about a condition which traditionally has been considered an adult disorder.

This paper outlines preliminary procedures used for developing a reliable, valid, observational screening instrument and parent questionnaire for school-based research on temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction in children. Potential items for the instrument were developed after a review of the literature and submitted to members of the American Academy of Craniomandibular Disorders for professional validation. The results of the validation effort presented here, complete phase one of a larger study. It is projected that the instruments, once refined, could be used by school health nurses and lay persons for early screening of children exhibiting symptoms associated with TM dysfunction.