Chewing Ability, Mood and Sleep are Negatively Influenced by Chronic TMJ Pain: Preliminary Results

Temporomandibular Joint pain may be characterized as a unilateral or bilateral pain in the joint and its associated craniofacial muscular system. Chronic pain in general is negatively associated to quality of life. Therefore, it was our clinical interest to investigate the role of chronic TMJ pain on various important life activities. The Brief Pain Inventory has been used for the evaluation of these factors of life quality. The findings showed that all the variables affected in negative terms by chronic pain. Concluding the importance of early diagnosis should be emphasized considering the consequence of the chronic illness.