Oral health-related quality of life in patients with temporomandibular disorders

Aims: To measure the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) compared to controls and analyze its association with various demographic and clinical parameters. Methods: The survey included 187 TMD patients and 200 controls. OHRQoL was measured using the validated Hebrew version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14). A self-report questionnaire assessed personal details, smoking habits, history of trauma and orthodontic treatment, comorbid headaches, oral habits, and pain. TMD patients were divided into diagnostic categories according to the newly recommended diagnostic criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) Axis I protocol. Differences between groups were examined with a Pearson chi-square test for categorical variables and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables. Results: Among TMD patients, the diagnostic categories included: (1) masticatory muscle disorders (MMD; n = 38; 20.32%), (2) isolated disorders of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ; n = 46; 24.59%), (3) patients with both MMD and TMJ (TMP; n = 103; 55.08%). Compared to controls, TMD patients exhibited worse global OHIP-14 scores (12.50 ± 8.14 vs 9.58 ± 10.00; P =.002) and worse scores in the following domains: physical pain (P <.001), psychological discomfort (P =.005), physical disability (P =.004), and psychological disability (P =.013). Among TMD patients, those categorized as TMP exhibited the highest scores in the physical pain (P =.02) domain. Previous orthodontic treatment, comorbid headache and body pain, limitations in mouth opening and lateral movement, pain, and muscle tenderness scores were found to be strongly related to the OHIP-14. Conclusion: TMD patients suffered from impaired OHRQoL considerably more than controls. OHRQoL in TMD patients is a multidimensional phenomenon influenced by previous orthodontic treatment, comorbid symptoms, pain, functional limitations, and muscle tenderness scores.