Muscular TMD tied to greater difficulty in Mastication compared to those without TMD: Study
Researchers have found in a new study that patients with muscular temporomandibular disorders (TMD) experienced greater difficulty during chewing compared to those without TMD, despite having adequate masticatory performance. Treatment led to improvements in masticatory performance, while higher pre-treatment pain levels were linked to poorer performance. The study was conducted by Ta-Chung Chen and colleagues in the Journal of Oral Rehabilitation.
Temporomandibular disorders involve the muscles and joints of the jaw and commonly cause chronic pain, limited movement of the jaw, and problems with everyday tasks like eating. Although pain relief has been the main target in previous research on TMD patients, little has been known about the effect of TMD on chewing function, both subjective and objective, and about how pain intensity relates to these changes.
The research involved 54 subjects, 27 muscular TMD patients and 27 TMD-free controls. Age, sex, and number of missing teeth were matched between the two groups to provide an equitable comparison. The TMD group was evaluated at two occasions: during the initial phase of the study and later three months after treatment.
Various assessments were conducted among the participants:
Subjective masticatory evaluation: Self-report of daily difficulty eating and the utilization of adaptive eating maneuvers (e.g., cutting food into smaller pieces, eating slowly).
Objective masticatory functioning: A standardized test of how well participants actually chewed.
Pain measures: Current pain and local muscle pain were both assessed in TMD patients at both time points.
Key Findings
27 TMD patients were compared to 27 non-TMD volunteers.
Prior to treatment:
100% of TMD patients had more eating difficulty than the control group.
TMD patients employed more adaptive eating habits compared to controls.
No significant difference in masticatory performance was observed relative to the control group.
Higher current pain had a significant negative correlation with masticatory performance.
Post-treatment:
TMD patients indicated better masticatory performance and less current and muscle pain.
Improving trends for both subjective eating experience and objective function of chewing were observed post-treatment.
The research concluded that muscular TMD patients, although initially having severe eating difficulty and pain, continue to possess baseline chewing ability. Treatment for 3 months correlated with enhanced chewing performance and decreased pain, and increased initial pain was predictive of worse chewing. These results support the importance of combined treatment measures aiming at relief of symptoms as well as functional recovery in TMD therapy.
Reference:
Chen, T.-C., & Lin, C.-S. (2025). Complex associations between pain and masticatory function in patients with muscular temporomandibular disorders. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, joor.14052. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.14052
