Evaluation of the psychological factors and symptoms of pain in patients with temporomandibular disorder

Resumo

The inf luence of psychological factors on
temporomandibular disorders (TMD), such as depression, anxiety
and stress has been very discussed in literature. However, there is
no consensus about their influence on the clinical manifestation
of TMD. Objective: To evaluate the evolution of minor psychiatric
disorders and pain symptoms in patients with temporomandibular
disorders (TMD) treated with occlusal splints and rehabilitated with
dental prosthesis. Material and methods: Sixty volunteers, both
genders, aging from 20 to 65 years, diagnosed with TMD, were
randomly selected within the university’s patient databank. The
volunteers were divided into two groups: G1 - 30 males and G2 - 30
females. The volunteers underwent a standard clinical evaluation for
TMD diagnosis. Psychological evaluations were performed through
Goldberg’s General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), before and after 24
months of treatment. TMD treatment comprised occlusal splints and
rehabilitated with dental prosthesis. The results were evaluated by
Mantel-Haezel, Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney statistical tests. Results:
According to the criteria established by GHQ, the interpretation of
the symptom scores should be applied based on gender, because the
scores have different values for male and female, consequently no
comparisons were made between the groups. There were significant
statistical difference in G2 when the variables psychic stress (p =
0.002) and psychosomatic disorders (p = 0.007) were observed. In G1, the variables for psychosomatic disorders (p = 0.002) and
general health (p = 0.021) were statistically significant. Significant
differences were found in both groups for all the evaluated symptoms
(p < 0.005). Conclusion: The used therapy positively interfered in
the remission of symptoms and in the incidence of minor psychic
disorders of TMD patients.