Psychological Profiles and Their Relevance with Temporomandibular Disorder Symptoms in Preorthodontic Patients

Abstract

Background. Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) refer to a group of heterogenous musculoskeletal diseases with diverse clinical symptoms and an undetermined aetiology. The psychological profiles were closely related to the onset and treatment outcomes of TMDs. Objective. To examine the relevance between psychological profiles and different symptoms of TMDs in preorthodontic patients. Methods. The study was conducted among 570 preorthodontic patients. TMDs symptoms were recorded by the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) symptom questionnaire. The seven-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), the nine-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), and the Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) were used for the evaluation of anxiety, depression, and pain catastrophizing levels. The relevance of three psychological profiles with TMDs and subtypes was evaluated with Spearman’s rank correlation test and logistic regression analysis ( P < 0.05 ). Results. 34.56% of the enrolled preorthodontic patients were diagnosed with TMDs. Scores of GAD-7, PHQ-9, and PCS were significantly higher in the TMDs group than in the non-TMDs group. Participants with anxiety, depression, or high pain catastrophizing had a higher prevalence of both pain-related TMDs symptoms and intra-articular TMDs symptoms. The correlations among pain-related TMDs, intra-articular TMDs, and scores on the psychological scales were significant ( P < 0.05 ). The adjusted logistic regression model revealed that anxiety, depression, and high pain catastrophizing were significant risk factors for TMDs with an odds ratio (OR) of 2.196, 1.741, and 1.601, respectively. Depression was associated with higher pain-related TMDs prevalence (OR = 2.136), while anxiety and depression were associated with higher intra-articular TMDs prevalence (OR = 2.341 and 1.473). Conclusion. Anxiety, depression, and high pain catastrophizing were comorbid psychological conditions of TMDs. Depression was the top risk factor for pain-related TMDs, while anxiety rendered the highest risk for intra-articular TMDs. Inclusion of psychological assessments in preorthodontic evaluation might yield great benefits in TMDs screening.

Impact of different types of temporomandibular disorders on jaw functional limitation and psychological distress in orthodontic patients

“…People with higher education levels might understand the questions better, or they may pay more attention to oral health issues. In addition, other studies have suggested that pain perception may be influenced by demographic‐social factors such as education level 40–42 . These are all possible causes of the above results.…”

“…In addition, other studies have suggested that pain perception may be influenced by demographic-social factors such as education level. [40][41][42] These are all possible causes of the above results.…”

Association Between Orofacial Pain and Anxiety: A Systematic Review

“…Four of them indicated significant positive low correlation between TMD and anxiety. 15 , 16 , 19 , 21 One study in the US reported significant positive low correlation between chronic orofacial pain and anxiety. 17 The diagnosis of chronic orofacial pain being included in that study includes trigeminal neuralgia (51.5%), other neuropathic diagnoses (14.6%), persistent idiopathic orofacial pain (5.3%), and other diagnoses.…”

Craniofacial Morphology of Temporomandibular Disorder Patients with Different Disc Positions: Stratifying Features Based on Sex and Sagittal Skeletal Pattern

“…Estrogen metabolism might also greatly contribute to the osseous changes of the condyle and enhance pain sensibility [ 35 , 36 ]. As they are closely related to abnormal oral parafunctions such as grinding and clinching, or sleep disorders, some psychological and social indicators might be unneglectable topics in studying these differences [ 37 ]. In this study, sex-related morphological changes in DD were significant.…”