J Orofac Pain
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To evaluate the prevalence of pain associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) patients referred for oral appliance therapy. ⋯ 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.
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To compare prevalences of self-reported temporomandibular joint and muscle disorders (TMJMD)-type pain in the 2002 U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) by age and gender for non-Hispanic whites (Caucasians) and non-Hispanic blacks (African Americans). ⋯ This is the first report of findings from a nationally representative US sample for TMJMD-type pain by age and race/ethnicity. TMJMD-type pain differed significantly by race, age, and gender after adjusting for socioeconomic status.
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Comparative Study
A method for clinically defining "improvers" in chronic pain studies.
To test a measurement model based on clinicians' assessments of patient data that allows simple and confident clinical validation of any statistical or numerical technique designed to separate patients improving with treatment from those who are not, particularly for pain that shows large daily variation. ⋯ Visual assessment of VAS demonstrates distinct pain/time patterns that can validate numeric definition of complex pain recovery. No single numeric method can be guaranteed to give a clinically valid outcome.
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To investigate the relative importance of systemic and local inflammatory mediators (serotonin: 5-HT; tumor necrosis factor: TNF; soluble interleukin-1 receptor II: IL-1sRII) in the modulation of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pressure pain threshold in patients with seropositive or seronegative rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and to investigate to what extent TMJ pressure pain threshold is related to other TMJ pain parameters. ⋯ The results indicate that TMJ pressure pain threshold is modulated by systemic rather than local inflammatory mediators and suggest that it is unrelated or only weakly related to other TMJ pain entities in RA patients. A rheumatoid factor-dependent systemic modulation, in combination with local factors, seems to account for TMJ pain in RA patients.
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To identify associations between clinical symptoms of temporomandibular joint disorders and radiographic findings. ⋯ Age, gender, and coarse crepitus, but no pain-related variables, were associated with increased risk of degenerative findings in TMJ tomograms. Maximal opening < 40 mm was associated with a posterior condyle-to-articular tubercle relation on opening.