The association of temporomandibular disorder pain with history of head and neck injury in adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the risk of self-reported temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain among adolescents in relation to previous head and/or neck injury.


METHODS
3,101 enrollees (11 to 17 years of age) of a nonprofit integrated health-care system were interviewed by telephone. Two hundred four cases with self-reported TMD pain and 194 controls without self-reported TMD pain frequency-matched to the cases by age and gender completed standardized in-person interviews and physical examinations in which reports of previous head/neck injuries were recorded. Odds ratio (OR) estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the relative risks of TMD pain associated with prior head and/or neck injuries were calculated using logistic regression.


RESULTS
A greater proportion of subjects reporting TMD pain (36%) than controls (25%) had a history of head and/or neck injuries (OR = 1.8, 95% CI, 1.1-2.8). In a separate analysis, the presence of TMD based upon the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) was assessed in relation to prior head and/or neck injury. Cases reporting TMD pain and meeting the RDC/TMD criteria for myofascial pain and/or arthralgia or arthritis were 2.0 (CI, 1.0-3.8) times more likely to have had a prior head injury than were controls with neither self-reported nor RDC/TMD pain diagnoses.


CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest a modest association of prior head injuries with both self-reported and clinically diagnosed TMD pain in adolescents.
Fischer
Dena J
DJ
Department of Oral Medicine, School of Dentistry, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6370, USA. denafis@u.washington.edu
Mueller
Beth A
BA
Critchlow
Cathy W
CW
LeResche
Linda
L
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000150:complications*; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D013704:Temporomandibular Joint; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000209:etiology*