Headache and Temporomandibular Disorders: Evidence for Diagnostic and Behavioural Overlap

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Cephalalgia

Abstract

To assess the diagnostic and behavioural overlap of headache patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), individuals recruited from the general population with self-described headaches were compared with non-headache controls. The examination and diagnostic procedures in the Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) for TMD were applied to both sets of subjects by a blinded examiner. Following their examination, subjects used experience sampling methods to obtain data on pain, tooth contact, masticatory muscle tension, emotional states and stress. Results showed that a significantly higher proportion of the headache patients received an RDC/TMD diagnosis of myofascial pain than non-headache controls. Headache patients also reported significantly more frequent and intense tooth contact, more masticatory muscle tension, more stress and more pain in the face/head and other parts of the body than non-headache controls. These results are similar to those reported for TMD patients and they suggest that headache patients and TMD patients overlap considerably in diagnosis and oral parafunctional behaviours.

DOI

10.1111/j.1468-2982.2007.01325.x

Publication Date

6-2007

Keywords

Experience sampling methods, Oral parafunctions, Research Diagnostic Criteria, Temporomandibular disorders

ISSN

1468-2982

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