Efficiency of Glucosamine in Treating Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthritis: A Systematic Review.

Background: Temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA) is a chronic disease that is a consequence of undue occlusal forces and is characterized by irreversible damage to the articular surfaces. Symptomatic slow-acting so-called nutraceutical drugs have been proposed as a treatment for osteoarthritis in comparison to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Oral glucosamine and chondroitin, slow-acting drugs, have been found to reduce pain and in- crease mouth opening in patients with TMJ OA. However, there is limited scientific evidence to confirm their clinical effectiveness.

Aim: This systematic review was conducted to bolster the evidence supporting the assessment of the efficacy of glucosamine in the context of temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJ OA).

Methodology: This review identified four review articles from databases like Medline (via PubMed), Web of Science, Scopus, and EMBASE till September 2023 after screening at the title, abstract, and full-text level. They were assessed for risk of bias with the JBI risk of bias assess- ment tool.

Result: This review with meta-analysis focused on pooled estimate mean differences, revealing non-significant but discernible effects of glucosamine on maximum mouth opening (SMD = 0.288, p = 0.15) and pain reduction (SMD = 0.217, p = 0.476) in TMJ-related disorders.

Conclusion: Compared to control groups with ibuprofen and tramadol, glucosamine showed slightly more favourable outcomes. However, the variability in methodology and study characteristics warrants further longitudinal studies to confirm its efficacy.