The whiplash injury phenomenon: a review of the literature

A single traumatic injury to the head, neck and temporomandibular joint that occurs during a sudden motor vehicle collision, is known as whiplash. In spite of the fact that whiplash injury is undefined and does not reflect the biomechanical events of motor vehicle accidents, temporomandibular symptoms may be associated with or occur independently of whiplash-associated disorders. The purpose of this review is to clarify whether a true correlation between temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction and whiplash injury exists. To this aim, a PubMed/Medline search was conducted using the terms “temporomandibular dysfunction”, “jaw pain”, “temporomandibular joint”, “whiplash”, “motor-vehicle accidents” and “motor-vehicle collisions”. Over 200 related articles were reviewed. The incidence of TMJ dysfunction resulting from whiplash varies from low to moderate and the mechanism of injury is poorly understood. Oral health care providers should be aware of the possible influence of litigation following motor vehicle accidents and its association with the so-called late whiplash syndrome. To date, there is no direct correlation between whiplash injury and TMJ dysfunction. The effect of whiplash on TMJ function is limited in terms of duration and often disappears without complications. A systematic and careful approach is needed when treating TMJ symptoms after whiplash and a differential diagnosis should be considered when temporomandibular joint disorder manifestations occur long after the whiplash incidence.