To measure the oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) compared to controls and analyze its association with various demographic and clinical parameters. The survey included 187 TMD patients and 200 controls. OHRQoL was measured using the validated Hebrew version of the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14). A self-report questionnaire assessed personal details, smoking habits, history of trauma and orthodontic treatment, comorbid headaches, oral habits, and pain. TMD patients were divided into diagnostic categories according to the newly recommended diagnostic criteria for TMD (DC/TMD) Axis I protocol. Differences between groups were examined with a Pearson chi-square test for categorical variables and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for continuous variables. Among TMD patients, the diagnostic categories included: (1) masticatory muscle disorders (MMD; n = 38; 20.32%), (2) isolated disorders of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ; n = 46; 24.59%), (3) patients with both MMD and TMJ (TMP; n = 103; 55.08%). Compared to controls, TMD patients exhibited worse global OHIP-14 scores (12.50 ± 8.14 vs 9.58 ± 10.00; P = .002) and worse scores in the following domains: physical pain (P < .001), psychological discomfort (P = .005), physical disability (P = .004), and psychological disability (P = .013). Among TMD patients, those categorized as TMP exhibited the highest scores in the physical pain (P = .02) domain. Previous orthodontic treatment, comorbid headache and body pain, limitations in mouth opening and lateral movement, pain, and muscle tenderness scores were found to be strongly related to the OHIP-14. TMD patients suffered from impaired OHRQoL considerably more than controls. OHRQoL in TMD patients is a multidimensional phenomenon influenced by previous orthodontic treatment, comorbid symptoms, pain, functional limitations, and muscle tenderness scores.

Periodontal disease is a complex and progressive chronic inflammatory condition that leads to the loss of alveolar bone and teeth. It has been associated with various systemic diseases, including diabetes mellitus and obesity, among others. Some of these conditions are part of the metabolic syndrome cluster, a group of interconnected systemic diseases that significantly raise the risk of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes mellitus, and stroke. The metabolic syndrome cluster encompasses central obesity, dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and hypertension. In this review, our objective is to investigate the correlation between periodontal disease and the components and outcomes of the metabolic syndrome cluster. By doing so, we aim to gain insights into the fundamental mechanisms that link each systemic condition with the metabolic syndrome. This deeper understanding of the interplay between these conditions and periodontal disease can pave the way for more effective treatments that take into account the broader impact of managing periodontal disease on the comprehensive treatment of systemic diseases, and vice versa.

Rafael Benoliel, BDS, LDS, RCS/Avraham Zini, DMD, PhD, MPH/Avraham Zakuto, DMD/Hulio Slutzky, DMD/Yaron Haviv, DMD, PhD/Yair Sharav, DMD, MS: Aims: To measure sleep quality in temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients, to compare it with that of control subjects, and to analyze its association with disease characteristics and oral health?related quality of life (OHRQoL). Methods: The collected data included demographics, tobacco use, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), trauma history, presence of coexisting headaches and/or body pain, parafunctional habits, pain scores, muscle tenderness to palpation scores, and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14). Differences between groups were examined with Pearson chi-square test for categorical variables and independent t test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for numeric variables. Significant differences were then further tested with multivariate backward stepwise linear regression analysis. Results: The final analysis was performed on 286 individuals (187 TMD patients and 99 controls). Poor sleep (PSQI global score > 5) was exhibited in 43.3% of the TMD group and in 28.3% of the control group (P = .013) (mean ? standard deviation [SD] PSQI score = 5.53 ? 2.85 for TMD patients and 4.41 ? 2.64 for controls, P = .001). TMD patients had significantly worse scores in the sleep quality component of the PSQI questionnaire (P = .006). Higher PSQI global scores and poor sleep were positively associated with whiplash history (P = .009 and P = .004, respectively), coexisting headaches (P = .005 and P = .002), body pain (P = .001 and P < .001), clenching habit (P = .016 and P = .006), reduced unassisted (P = .014 and P = .042) and assisted (P = .005 and P = .006) mouth opening, higher muscle tenderness scores, higher pain scores, and higher OHIP-14 global and dimension scores. Conclusion: TMD patients had poorer sleep than controls. Sleep quality was positively associated with TMD disease characteristics, comorbid pain conditions, and poorer OHRQoL. Assessing sleep quality should be a routine part of the diagnostic work-up of TMD patients. A multidisciplinary management approach is needed to address all the factors?including sleep?that modulate pain experience.

We conducted a cross-sectional study to re-examine the clinical profile of patients with a clinical diagnosis of classical trigeminal neuralgia (CTN). Inclusion criteria consisted of the International Headache Society’s published classification of CTN. For the specific purposes of the study, features such as autonomic signs, persistent background pain, attack durations of >2 minutes and reports of pain-related awakening were included. The demographic and clinical phenotype of each patient were carefully recorded for analysis. The study cohort consisted of 81 patients and based on reported attack duration these were divided into short (≤ 2 minutes, n = 61) and long (> 2 minutes, n = 20) groups for further analysis. The group with short attack duration neatly fit most of the criteria for CTN while the long attack group presents a more challenging diagnosis. There were no significant differences in pain severity, quality and location between the short and long attack groups. The frequency of persistent background pain was significantly higher in the long (70%) compared to the short attack group (29.5%, p = 0.001). There were significantly more reports of pain-related awakenings in the long (55%) than in the short attack groups (29.5%, p = 0.04). There were no significant differences in the frequency of autonomic signs between the short (21.3%) and long attack groups (40%, p = 0.1). In the short attack group, the presence of autonomic signs was significantly associated with longer disease duration, increased pain-related awakenings, and a reduced prognosis. There are clear diagnostic criteria for CTN but often patients present with features, such as long pain attacks, that challenge such accepted criteria. In our cohort the clinical phenotype of trigeminal, neuralgiform pain with or without autonomic signs and background pain was observed across both short and long attack groups and the clinical implications of this are discussed.