title: Difficulty of food intake in patients with temporomandibular disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Although patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) often report impaired eating, the features of food intake difficulty have rarely been estimated. This study compared subjective difficulty in 4 categories of food intake situations among 3 subgroups of TMD patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 511 TMD patients (402 women, 109 men, mean age 36.4 +/- 15.4, range 12 to 82) participated in this study. Subjects were divided into 3 TMD subgroups: myofascial pain (MFP), disc displacement with/without reduction (DD), and arthralgia or osteoarthritis (Arth). Patients' level of food intake difficulty was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) for 4 categories of food intake situations: difficulty in putting food into mouth (PUT), difficulty in biting off foods (BIT), difficulty in grinding down foods (GRD), and overall difficulty in consuming a meal (OAL).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Nearly all patients (98.6%) exhibited food intake difficulty in at least 1 category. In the category of PUT, the DD group exhibited significantly more difficulty than the MFP and Arth groups (P < .048), and the Arth group had a higher VAS score than the MFP group (P = .030). With regard to BIT and GRD, there was no significant difference among the TMD subgroups. In OAL, the DD group showed more difficulty than the MFP group (P = .046).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  TMD patients experienced impaired food intake ability. In particular, the DD group experienced more difficulty than the MFP group. Concerns about types of food and food intake behavior for each TMD subtype should be taken into account in the management of TMD patients.
authors.affiliation: TMJ Clinic, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan. th.tmj@tmd.ac.jp
authors.forename: Tadasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haketa
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kino
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugisaki
authors.forename: Yoko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Amemori
authors.forename: Takayuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Toshihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Nahoko
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Yoshida
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D002648:Child; D004435:Eating / Q000502:physiology; D001068:Feeding and Eating Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D005502:Food; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D019224:Temporomandibular Joint Disc / Q000503:physiopathology; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013706:Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology