Skin surface temperature over the temporomandibular joint and masseter muscle in healthy children and adolescents

Abstract

Skin surface temperature (SST) measurements were carried out over the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and masseter muscle (MM) of 159 healthy children and adolescents aged 7, 11, 15 and 18 years. No current symptoms were found of impaired general health or from the masticatory system or recurrent headache. The recordings were done with a thermocouple in contact with the skin. The mean SST over the TMJ and MM increased with age, and from the youngest to the oldest group regarding the TMJ by 1.3°C (right) and 1.6°C (left), and for MM by 2.1°C (right) and 2.5°C (left). Variation in the mean difference between sides of the TMJ was 0.0-0.2°C and for the MM 0.1-0.3°C. The variation in SST between sides was reduced with increasing age, but was higher for MM than for TMJ in all age groups. In the 7-years group, there was a significant difference between right and left SST over TMJ and MM. It is concluded that SST increases with growth during childhood and that the SST for the TMJ is higher than MM in all age groups. The finding of a high degree of thermal symmetry between sides in all age groups may have diagnostic potential for pathological conditions involving blood flow and in evaluation of treatment of these conditions.