Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in obstructive sleep apnea patients referred for oral appliance therapy.
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.
Cunali
Paulo Afonso
PA
Department of Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Parana, Parana, Brazil. pacunali@onda.com.br
Almeida
Fernanda R
FR
Santos
Camila D
CD
Valdrighi
Natalia Y
NY
Nascimento
Liliane S
LS
Dal'Fabbro
Cibele
C
Tufik
Sergio
S
Bittencourt
Lia Rita A
LR
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