The most common TMJ disorders can be diagnosed by simple, inexpensive means such as taking a detailed medical history, a dental examination, and a short special examination of the joints. These are usually supplemented by a panoramic X-ray.
Special use of other technical equipment such as computers or further diagnostic imaging with computed tomography (CT), cone beam tomography (CBT), or magnetic resonance images (MRI) are not needed in most cases. Most findings are arthralgia (joint pain), arthritis (joint inflammation) and activated arthrosis. There are various forms of disk displacement which as such have no clinical significance, as long as they are not connected to pain or restrictions of jaw mobility. Unfortunately, in many places, every temporomandibular joint finding is the cause of a series of expensive, high-tech examinations that usually only unsettle patients, without improving subsequent therapy.