Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) pose a serious health problem that can have a negative effect on patients' lives, impair work performance, and result in work absences and restrictions in daily activities. The aim of this observational, cross-sectional study was to evaluate the level of satisfaction with life among Polish patients with TMD and to assess the influence of pain severity on this parameter. A secondary goal was to investigate sleep quality within this patient group and explore its relationship with pain. A total of 219 patients from the Outpatient Clinic for Temporomandibular Disorders at the University Dental Polyclinic in Wroclaw, Poland, participated in this study. These individuals underwent a clinical examination using the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) protocol and completed 2 validated questionnaires, namely the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Furthermore, the patients were assessed for the severity of masseter muscle pain (MMP) and temporal muscle pain (TMP), and the average pain in these muscles (AMP) was calculated. Subsequently, a statistical analysis was performed on the collected data. The group of patients with average satisfaction with life exhibited significantly higher levels of MMP (p = 0.025) and AMP (p = 0.044) as compared to the high-satisfaction group. Regarding sleep quality, 50.23% of the patients experienced poor sleep quality. Poor sleep quality was found to be statistically associated with higher levels of TMP (p = 0.032) and AMP (p = 0.028). Moreover, women demonstrated significantly worse sleep quality as compared to men (p = 0.002). The findings indicate that PSQI has a greater impact on SWLS than vice versa. Due to a large number of TMD patients experiencing poor sleep quality and the associated reduced life satisfaction, these parameters should be considered as influential factors that modify the management of patients with TMD.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of the current coronavirus pandemic on the prevalence of bruxism, oral parafunctions and painful Temporo-Mandibular Disorders (TMDs) and to evaluate the influence of the pandemic on both sexes. Methods: This retrospective study included 288 dental patients who underwent complete anamnesis and examination according to the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD. The study evaluated two patient populations according to the date of examination: (a) pre-COVID-19 pandemic era (108 patients); (b) COVID 19 pandemic era, where 180 patients were examined during the pandemic. Results: A significant increase in parafunction activity was found in both men and women (p < 0.001) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Awake bruxism (AB) and sleep bruxism (SB) was more prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic solely in women (AB-p < 0.001; SB-p = 0.014). Conclusions: Men and women were affected by the ongoing stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic, yet women showed a higher influence as compared to men. The long-term exposure to elevated levels of anxiety and stress may aggravate or trigger stomatognathic detrimental conditions. Dentists should be aware and regularly monitor their patients regarding the possible existence and consequences of bruxism and TMD.

Assessment of awake bruxism (AB) is problematic due to the inability to use continuous recordings during daytime activities. Recently, a new semi-instrumental approach was suggested, namely, ecological momentary assessment (EMA), via the use of a smartphone application. With the application, subjects are requested to report, at least 12 times per day, the status of their masticatory muscle activity (relaxed muscles, muscle bracing without tooth contact, teeth contact, teeth clenching, or teeth grinding). The aim of the present study was to test the association between a single observation point self-report and EMA assessment of AB. The most frequent condition recorded by the EMA was relaxed muscles (ca. 60%) and the least frequent was teeth grinding (less than 1%). The relaxed muscle condition also showed the lowest coefficient of variance over a seven-day period of report. Additionally, only the relaxed muscles and the muscle bracing conditions presented an acceptable ability to assess AB-positive and AB-negative subjects, as defined by single-point self-report questions. The combination between self-report and EMA may have the potential to promote our ability to assess AB. We suggest to re-consider the conditions of teeth contact and teeth grinding while using EMA to evaluate AB.

Background. The prevalence of various temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and the severity of attrition in patients with either bilateral or unilateral deep bite and/or posterior crossbite has not been established, nor has the effect of one year of orthodontic treatment on TMD. Methods. Of 310 patients presenting with suspected TMD, 160 were diagnosed with various TMD and 150 were TMD-free. Diagnosis was according to the Axis I of the Diagnostic Criteria for TMD. All participants underwent a dental examination, and 100 patients were reevaluated after one year of orthodontic treatment. Fisher’s exact test and the proportion test with Bonferroni’s correction were used for the categorical univariate analysis. Results. There was a significant association ( ) between deep bite and dental attrition (wear), but not between crossbite and/or deep bite in patients diagnosed with either painful TMD or disc displacement. The risk of sustaining painful TMD when crossbite presented simultaneously on the anterior and the posterior dentition was 2.625-fold greater than when it presented with a normal bite, although this difference was not significant ( ) due to the lack of statistical power. There was no significant sex-related association between the occurrence of either painful TMD or disc displacement. A reduction in TMD findings was demonstrated after one year of treatment, but no statistical power was reached due to the small sample size. Conclusions. Deep bite may be related to dental wear but not to pain from TMD and/or disc displacement. Only crossbite that presents simultaneously on the anterior and the posterior dentition (mixed X-bite) may have some effect on the level of pain in TMD, but not on in the prevalence of disc displacement. Confirmation of these conclusions by well-designed studies on larger patient groups is warranted. There was a clinically significant improvement in TMD findings after one year of treatment.

Background: Oral mucosal biopsies might harbor candidal hyphae (CH) in the absence of any clinical signs or symptoms. Aim: To assess oral mucosa biopsies for the frequency of unexpected CH and characterize their clinico-pathological features. Materials and Methods: All biopsy reports (2004–2019) were searched using CH/candida/candidiasis as key words. Cases with clinical diagnosis of oral candidiasis (OC) were excluded. Demographic data, health status, smoking habits, clinical features and diagnoses were collected. Statistical analysis included the chi-square test; significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Of all the biopsies, 100 (1.05%) reported microscopical evidence of CH without typical clinical signs/symptoms of OC. Fifteen cases were from healthy, non-smoking patients. CH was common on buccal mucosa (38%) and lateral tongue (23%). The tip of tongue (OR = 54.5, 95% CI 9.02–329.4, p < 0.001) and lateral tongue (OR = 3.83, 95% CI 2.4–6.09, p < 0.001) were more likely to harbor CH-positive lesions. CH-positive lesions were diagnosed as epithelial hyperplasia (55%) and exophytic reactive lesions (30%). No correlation was found between CH and the grade of epithelial dysplasia. Conclusions: Microscopic evidence of CH embedded into oral epithelium without typical signs/symptoms of OC is rare, especially in healthy, non-smokers. Since CH was occasionally found in oral sites prone to local trauma and in association with reactive lesions, in absence of host co-morbidities, the contribution of local mechanical forces to CH embedment cannot be ruled out.