J Orofac Pain
-
To estimate the contribution of various occlusal features of the natural dentition that may identify self-reported bruxers compared to nonbruxers. ⋯ This investigation suggested that the contribution of occlusion to the differentiation between bruxers and nonbruxers is negligible. This finding supports theories that advocate a much diminished role for peripheral anatomical-structural factors in the pathogenesis of bruxism.
-
Orofacial pain bridges an important gap between medicine and dentistry. This article presents the case of a man who reported preauricular pain, tinnitus, and vertigo that began after extraction of an impacted third molar and who was sent for evaluation of a possible temporomandibular joint disorder. However, he was subsequently found to have markers and imaging results consistent with recurrent and more centralized lupus and/or multiple sclerosis.
-
To test whether patients with temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain differ from subjects from the general population with regard to their stress-related coping styles. ⋯ Differences in the applied stress-related coping styles of TMD patients and subjects without TMD may have implications for clinical decision making and choosing among treatment alternatives.
-
To compare patients with combined tension-type headache and myofascial temporomandibular disorder (TMD) with control subjects on two measures of central processing-ie, temporal summation and aftersensations to heat stimulation in the trigeminal nerve and spinal nerve territories. ⋯ The results from this pilot study suggest that aftersensations to painful heat stimulation can appear without temporal summation. Furthermore, the developed test protocol has a good predictive value and may have the potential to discriminate between tension-type headache/TMD patients and control subjects.
-
This article reports an unusual case of neuropathic orofacial pain secondary to leprosy. To the authors' knowledge, it is the first case of leprosy reported in the Western literature that was initially thought to be dental pain, then mistaken as a temporomandibular disorder before the correct diagnosis was made. ⋯ Even in Western countries, patients originally from countries where leprosy is endemic may develop symptoms of the disease many years later. The possibility of leprosy should be considered in the diagnosis of neuropathic orofacial pain in such patients.