J Orofac Pain
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To estimate the intra- and interrater reliability of current perception threshold (CPT) evaluation, especially within the infraorbital nerve territory (ION) and inferior alveolar nerve territory (IAN) of the orofacial region, and to characterize the CPTs of ION and IAN in the normal population. ⋯ Evaluation of CPTs within ION and IAN revealed good intra- and interrater reliability. The study also provided normative data of CPTs of ION, IAN, and the between-site and within-site ratios of CPTs of ION and IAN. This should prove useful in the diagnosis of orofacial neuropathy.
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To determine potential differences in predictive models of acute temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients divided into groups based on the physiologic characteristics of their TMD. ⋯ The factors that predict which acute TMD patients are most likely to seek additional treatment vary depending on the physiologic basis of their TMD. This suggests that acute TMD patients may benefit from different modalities of treatment, depending on the type of TMD with which they present.
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Patients with different facial pain/headache pathologies usually complain of numerous accompanying symptoms relative to systemic dysfunctions or to the patient's personality characteristics. The purpose of this work was: (1) to determine the prevalence of accompanying symptoms in groups of patients with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) dysfunction and other types of facial pain or headache disorders, (2) to assess the patients' personality characteristics and anxiety levels, and (3) to see whether significant differences were found between the groups. ⋯ It is concluded that some types of headache and facial pain seem to correlate with the presence of a number of accompanying symptoms and with some changes in personality. These changes are particularly relevant in patients with chronic daily headache and facial pain disorder. In contrast, patients with TMJ intracapsular disorders tended to show a low prevalence of accompanying symptoms and a normal personality profile.
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Pain in some bruxers has been suggested to represent a state of postexercise muscle soreness. This study examined the effect of voluntary, controlled grinding movements on the development of pain and soreness in the masticatory system. ⋯ These findings suggest that significant but low levels of postexercise muscle soreness can be elicited by standardized grinding movements in the masticatory system of healthy subjects.