Botulinum Toxin-A for the Treatment of Myogenous Temporomandibular Disorders: An Umbrella Review of Systematic Reviews

• Published in: Drugs (New York, N.Y.) Vol. 84; no. 7; pp. 779 - 809
• Main Authors: De la Torre Canales, Giancarlo, Câmara-Souza, Mariana Barbosa, Ernberg, Malin, Al-Moraissi, Essam Ahmed, Grigoriadis, Anastasios, Poluha, Rodrigo Lorenzi, Christidis, Maria, Jasim, Hajer, Lövgren, Anna, Christidis, Nikolaos
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adverse events; Analgesics; Botulinum toxin; Clinical trials; Decision making; Disorders; Effectiveness; Internal Medicine; Mandible; Mastication; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Muscles; Pain; Pharmacology/Toxicology; Pharmacotherapy; Placebos; Range of motion; Scandinavian languages; Systematic Review; Temporomandibular joint; Temporomandibular joint disorders; Toxins
• ISSN: 0012-6667; 1179-1950; 1179-1950
• DOI: 10.1007/s40265-024-02048-x

Objective Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) encompass several conditions that cause pain and impair function of the masticatory muscles (M-TMDs) and temporomandibular joints. There is a large interest among clinicians and researchers in the use of botulinum toxin-A (BoNT-A) as a treatment for M-TMD. However, due to the lack of consistent evidence regarding the efficacy as well as adverse events of BoNT-A, clinical decision making is challenging. Therefore, this umbrella review aimed to systematically assess systematic reviews (SRs) evaluating BoNT-A treatment effects on pain intensity, mandibular movements, and adverse events in patients with M-TMDs. Method An electronic search was undertaken in the databases MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, Cochrane Central Registry of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), Web of Science, Epistemonikos, ClinicalTrials.gov, and ICTRP to identify SRs investigating BoNT-A effects on M-TMDs, published from the inception of each database until 6 December 2023. The quality of evidence was rated according to the critical appraisal checklist developed by the umbrella review methodology working group. Only high-quality SRs were included. Results In total, 18 SRs were included. BoNT-A was shown to be more effective than placebo to reduce pain intensity, but not compared to standard treatments. Additionally, BoNT-A was not superior to placebo or standard treatments regarding improvement of mandibular movements. BoNT-A was considered to have a higher risk for adverse events on muscle and bony tissue compared with other treatments. Conclusion The synthesis in this umbrella review provides the highest level of evidence present. Taken together, there are indications of effectiveness of BoNT-A for treatment of M-TMDs, supported by moderate evidence. However, considering the risk of causing serious adverse events, treatment with BoNT-A is recommended to be the last treatment alternative.