title: Teeth contacting habit as a contributing factor to chronic pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders.
abstract: Many different factors are known to cause and perpetuate the symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). However, the roles of parafunctional factors have not been clearly elucidated. We found one of these habits in the clinical setting. This parafunctional habit involves daily light touching of the upper and lower teeth, when the mouth is closed. We named this habit Teeth Contacting Habit (TCH). [OBJECTIVES] To investigate the following hypotheses: 1) TCH is associated with perpetuation of chronic pain of TMD patients; 2) TCH is associated with other behavioral factors. [METHODS] Two hundred and twenty-nine TMD outpatients with chronic pain were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression models. [RESULTS] TCH was found in 52.4% of patients. Patients with TCH and pain lasting for more than four months were less likely to experience improvements in pain at the first visit (OR = 1.944, p = 0.043). Other factors associated with TCH were as follows: unilateral chewing (OR = 2.802) and involvement in a precision job (OR = 2.195). [CONCLUSION] TCH can prolong TMD pain and is associated with other behavioral factors.
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgery, Maxillofacial Reconstruction and Function, Division of Maxillofacial and Neck Reconstruction, Graduate School, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan. fums@mac.com
authors.forename: Fumiaki
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sato
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kino
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sugisaki
authors.forename: Tadasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Haketa
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: Teruo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amagasa
authors.forename: Tomoaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibuya
authors.forename: Haruyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tanabe
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yoda
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sakamoto
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Omura
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Miyaoka
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000150:complications; D002012:Bruxism / Q000150:complications; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003769:Dental Occlusion, Traumatic / Q000150:complications*; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D004204:Joint Dislocations / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009497:Neurotic Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D009790:Occupations; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000150:complications; D010147:Pain Measurement; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology; D019224:Temporomandibular Joint Disc / Q000503:physiopathology; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications*; D013706:Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome / Q000150:complications