Counselling for patients with a temporomandibular disorder: A scoping review and concept analysis

BACKGROUND: An integral component of comprehensive temporomandibular disorder (TMD) treatment involves what is commonly referred to in literature as patient counselling or patient education. Despite its importance, a clear definition of the concept is lacking.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the concept of counselling (i.e. what is it, what should it consist of, and when should it be given) through a concept analysis of the literature.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: All papers that include a description of counselling or education for TMD are included.

SOURCES OF EVIDENCE: Literature searches were performed in the electronic databases PubMed, Cinahl, and PsycInfo.

CHARTING METHODS: A qualitative analysis was done using the principle-based concept analysis approach, where descriptions of counselling from the included papers were analysed by the researchers.

RESULTS: A total of 71 articles were included. Based on the qualitative analysis of the included articles and descriptions of counselling, the following content themes were identified: (1) general information on TMD; (2) overuse of the masticatory system; (3) posture education; (4) lifestyle and psychosocial factors; (5) exercise- and thermotherapy; and (6) additional information and therapies.

CONCLUSIONS: A definition and framework of counselling for TMD has been provided, which can be used in the clinic, research, and educational programs.