title: Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in obstructive sleep apnea patients referred for oral appliance therapy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the prevalence of pain associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients referred for oral appliance therapy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighty-seven patients (46 men and 41 women), between 18 and 65 years of age, with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of > 5 and < 30 (events by sleep hour), and body mass index (BMI) of =or< 30 Kg/m(2) were evaluated according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) to determine the presence of signs and symptoms of TMD. Statistical analyses included correlations assessed by Pearson's test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Fifty-two percent of patients presented symptoms of TMD. Thirty-two patients (average age 47 +/- 11 years, AHI 17.3 +/- 8.7, BMI 25.9 +/- 3.8 kg/m(2)) completed the study. According to the Scoring Protocol for Graded Chronic Pain (Axis II-RDC/TMD), 75% of the patients presented chronic pain related to TMD, categorized as low disability grade I (< 50 points for pain intensity, and < 3 disability points). The most common TMD diagnosis was myofascial pain with and without limited mouth opening and arthralgia (50%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The high prevalence of TMD in the current study indicates that patients with OSAS referred for oral appliance therapy require specific evaluation related to TMD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Parana, Parana, Brazil. pacunali@onda.com.br
authors.forename: Paulo Afonso
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Cunali
authors.forename: Fernanda R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Almeida
authors.forename: Camila D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Natalia Y
authors.initials: NY
authors.lastname: Valdrighi
authors.forename: Liliane S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Nascimento
authors.forename: Cibele
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dal'Fabbro
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tufik
authors.forename: Lia Rita A
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000453:epidemiology; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008410:Masticatory Muscles / Q000503:physiopathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010003:Osteoarthritis / Q000453:epidemiology; D010147:Pain Measurement; D015995:Prevalence; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020181:Sleep Apnea, Obstructive / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013706:Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology