A Randomized Double-Blind Clinical Trial of the Effect of Chondroitin Sulfate and Glucosamine Hydrochloride on Temporomandibular Joint Disorders: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have shown chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine hydrochloride have beneficial effects on symptoms of osteoarthritis of the knee. Our aim was to study the effect of a daily dose of 1500 mg of glucosamine hydrochloride (GH) and 1200 mg of chondroitin sulfate (CS) taken for twelve weeks on subjects diagnosed with capsulitis, disk displacement, disk dislocation, or painful osteoarthritis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Forty-five subjects were enrolled in the study and were randomly assigned to either an active medication group or a placebo group. Eleven subjects were lost from the study for various reasons, resulting in fourteen subjects remaining in the active medication group and twenty subjects remaining in the placebo group. Subjects taking CS-GH had improvements in their pain as measured by one index of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, in TMJ tenderness, in TMJ sounds, and in the number of daily over-the-counter medications needed. Subjects taking the placebo medication had improvements in their pains as measured by the visual analog scale and by four indices of the McGill Pain Questionnaire. Additional studies are required to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of CS-GH and to determine the exact mechanism by which CS-GH affects the articular cartilage of synovial joints.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Phuong Nguyen

Dr. Phuong Nguyen earned his B.S. in biology from Xavier University and his D.D.S. from Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry. Presently, Dr. Nguyen is a resident in Orthodontics at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. Dr. Nguyen presented this research in part at the 2000 Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Equilibration Society.

Shawky E. Mohamed

Dr. Shawky E. Mohamed is Professor of Prosthodontics and Director of the Louisiana State University TMJ Clinic at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry.

Diana Gardiner

Dr. Diana Gardiner earned her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Alabama. Dr. Gardiner is Professor and Director of Instructional Services, Planning, and Accountability at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Dentistry. She also directs courses in Research Methodology and Statistics.

Thomas Salinas

Dr. Thomas Salinas earned his D.D.S. General Practice Residency, and Prosthodontic Residency at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center and his Certificate in Maxillofacial Prosthodontics from M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Currently, Dr. Salinas is Professor of General Dentistry at LSUHSC and Coordinator of the General Practice Residency Program at the Medical Center of Louisiana.