Treatment philosophy of TMD The treatment of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) is a complex and comprehensive process. the aim of TMD treatment is to relieve pain, restore function and improve the quality of life of patients. the treatment of TMD should follow the principles of: individualized treatment, conservative treatment, early treatment and minimally invasive treatment. Special emphasis should be placed on reversible non-surgical treatment first, and various methods of irreversible treatment should be considered only after all reversible non-surgical treatments have failed. With the recognition of the adaptive changes of irreversible disc displacement condyles, the proportion of patients undergoing arthrodesis as well as disc repositioning has gradually decreased. Treatment of TMD Conservative treatment: Conservative treatment of TMD includes psychiatric treatment such as health education and psychological counseling, medication, physical therapy, muscle therapy such as opening exercises, muscle massage, mandibular postural position exercises, acupuncture therapy, Chinese medicine, various occlusal plates, prosthetics, orthodontics and intra-articular irrigation. Commonly used TCM treatments include heat therapy, acupuncture therapy, massage and combination therapy. Occlusion therapy: Occlusion therapy for TMD includes reversible occlusion therapy such as occlusion plates and irreversible occlusion therapy such as adjustment, restoration, orthodontics, and extraction. Occlusal plates can be classified by function as stable occlusal plates, relaxed occlusal plates, repositioned occlusal plates, pivotal occlusal plates and restorative occlusal plates, etc.; by position, they can be classified as maxillary occlusal plates, mandibular occlusal plates and full dental occlusal plates, etc.; by material, they can be classified as soft elastic occlusal plates, silicone occlusal plates, plastic occlusal plates and metal occlusal plates. Each type of occlusal plate is used for the following cases: stable occlusal plates are mostly used for muscle dysfunction, flaccid occlusal plates are mainly used for myogenic mouth opening restriction, repositioning occlusal plates are mostly used for reversible anterior displacement of articular discs, and pivotal occlusal plates are mainly used for early irreversible anterior displacement of articular discs. Treatment of TMD in the elderly: The complexity of diagnosis and treatment of TMJ diseases and the physiological and pathological peculiarities of the elderly constitute the difficulties of TMJ diseases and their diagnosis and treatment in the elderly. A comprehensive treatment approach should be adopted for TMD in the elderly, with occlusal plates, closure and prosthetic restorations being the main treatment methods. For patients with edentulous TMD, 95% of them are treated conservatively with full denture restoration, thus maintaining the appropriate vertical distance, and good denture stability and jaw adjustment are very important for full denture restoration. Rehabilitation treatment should be carried out throughout the treatment of TMJ disorders in the elderly. Surgical treatment: In cases of serious structural disorders and osteoarthrosis in TMD that are not effectively treated by conservative treatment and seriously affect joint function and normal life, TMJ surgery is required. Surgical treatment includes joint irrigation, arthroscopic surgery and open surgical treatment. With the widespread use of TMJ arthroscopy in clinical practice, surgical procedures are developing in the direction of minimally invasive surgery. TMJ arthroscopic surgery is minimally invasive surgery, which has the characteristics of less injury and faster recovery. Due to the specificity of TMJ disorders, there is “uncertainty” in the treatment effect, and clinical studies show that 10% of patients have insignificant or ineffective treatment. Patients suffering from TMJ disorders are urged to trust the doctor of their choice, as patients and doctors are comrades in the trenches.