Adding Technology to Diagnostic Methods

Abstract

Adding modern technology to clinical diagnostic methods instead of replacing them, represents an improvement in patient care, because objective bio-physiologic measurements enhance the information obtained from the patient report of symptoms and the clinical observations made during a patient examination. Combining multiple tests has universally been acknowledged to enhance diagnostic sensitivity and specificity. The increased objectivity of bio-physiologic measurements that represent quantifiable data for diagnostic purposes also adds value to treatment monitoring and/or outcome assessments. The most recent evidence suggests that the emotional aspects of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), are more the result of pain and dysfunction than the cause. This chapter discusses several dental technologies that are now available that provide objective bio-physiologic measurements of masticatory functions. Bio-physiologic measurements have the capacity to provide detailed, objective analysis. Each diagnostic technology is illustrated with an example of its output data, recorded from both an asymptomatic subject, as well as a patient with masticatory dysfunction. Of significance when considering employing these instruments is that a dentist can use these technologies to improve the initial diagnostic accuracy, and also to verify the degree of success after rendered treatment. Finally, recommendations are provided that dental medicine should accept the use of modern digital technology as an indispensable part of modern clinical practice, and that resistance to its implementation should no longer inhibit its widespread clinical use.