Coexisting conditions, symptoms increase risk of developing TMD pain, Finds study

The study is published in the Journal of American Dental Association.

Literature suggests that TMJ disorders (TMD) are a class of degenerative musculoskeletal conditions associated with morphological and functional deformities. TMD include abnormalities of the intra-articular discal position and/or structure as well as dysfunction of the associated musculature. Symptoms and signs include painful joint sounds, restricted or deviating range of motion, and cranial and/or muscular pain known as orofacial pain.

Epidemiology reports state temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) affect up to 25% of the population, yet their etiology and progression are poorly understood. As a result, treatment options are limited and fail to meet the long-term demands of the relatively young patient population.

Hong Chen and colleagues explored a health history–based chairside risk assessment for first-onset temporomandibular disorders.

Secondary data analysis was performed on the Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment data set. Potential demographic, systemic, and local risk contributors were conceptualized into 10 risk categories.

Multivariate Cox proportional hazards modeling with backward selection was applied. Variables with P values < .05 were kept in each successive model.

The analysis included data from 2,737 participants. The final model indicated that people with any psychological conditions, pain disorders, sleep disorders, or orofacial symptoms were at elevated risks of developing first-onset TMD. The findings of post hoc analysis revealed that the coexistence of conditions from multiple body systems conferred greater risk of developing TMD.

This led the authors to conclude that "coexisting conditions and symptoms from multiple body systems substantially increase the risk of developing TMD pain. Therefore, multisystem risk assessment and interprofessional collaborations are important for the prevention of TMD."

Furthermore, dentists should include psychological conditions, pain disorders, sleep disorders, and orofacial symptoms when assessing patients' risk of developing TMD pain, they added.