Oral nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as treatment of joint and muscle pain in temporomandibular disorders: A systematic review

Objective To evaluate pain control in patients with joint and muscle pain in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) diagnosis treated with oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Methods The systematic research was conducted via Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Cochrane databases. Results Four full-text randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) were considered eligible. This systematic review included 164 patients whose VAS scores were assessed before and after therapy. In the selected studies, a strong heterogeneity in the diagnosis and in the use of different types and prescriptions of NSAIDs was highlighted. These limitations had to be considered to understand whether a clinical recommendation could be made. Eventually, all patients treated with NSAIDs showed an improvement in pain. Conclusion The use of oral NSAIDs as the first approach to control joint and muscle pain is sustained by the current scientific literature, but further investigations on this topic are still needed.