• A Korszun, B Hinderstein, and M Wong.
• School of Dentistry/Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, USA.
• Oral Surg Oral Med O. 1996 Nov 1;82(5):496-500.

ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to examine the comorbidity of depressive disorders in patients with chronic facial pain presenting to a multidisciplinary facial pain clinic.Study DesignData were collected from 72 consecutive patients with chronic facial pain who had received a maltidisciplinary evaluation including a psychiatric examination for the presence of depressive disorders.ResultsTwenty-eight percent of patients met criteria of the latest Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders for major depression, and 25% met the criteria for minor depression. A further 22% reported subsyndromal depressive symptoms. Temporomandibular disorders were demonstrable in 71% of these patients, but the remaining 29% had no objective physical findings. There was no statistical difference in comorbidity of depressive disorders in patients with temporomandibular disorders compared with patients without temporomandibular disorders.ConclusionScreening for symptoms of depression should be an integral part of the evaluation of all patients with chronic facial pain, even when masticatory muscle or temporomandibular joint disorders are identified.

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