The Impact of Orofacial Pain on the Quality of Life of Patients with Temporomandibular Disorder

Aims: To evaluate the relationships between gender, diagnosis, and severity of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) with self-reports of the impact of TMD on the quality of life. Methods: Eighty-three individuals seeking TMD treatment at the Dental School of Pontifical Catholic University Minas from May to August 2005 were evaluated by a single examiner who was trained and calibrated for diagnosis according to criteria of Axis I of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD). The severity of TMD was established by the Temporomandibular Index and the impact on quality of life by the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP 14). Complete data were available for 78 of the 83 initial patients and evaluated by the Mann-Whitney test and Spearman correlation analysis. Results: Except for one patient, all individuals showed some impact related to physical pain. Of the seven aspects evaluated on the OHIP 14, women presented a greater impact than men only for functional limitations (Mann-Whitney, P .05). Patients presenting with diagnoses of muscular disorders (group I) or osteoarthritis (group III) reported a greater impact than those without (P .05). The Spearman test demonstrated a significant correlation between impact on quality of life and severity of TMD (P .05). Conclusion: Orofacial pain had a great impact on the quality of life of individuals with TMD, without group difference between genders. The presence of muscular disorders (group I) and osteoarthritis (group III) was related to greater impact on quality of life, which was not observed for diagnoses of disc displacement (group II). A correlation between severity of TMD and impact on quality of life was clearly observed.