Correlation Between Severity of Temporomandibular Disorder, Pain Intensity, and Pressure Pain Threshold

The aim of the present study was to correlate the severity of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) with the pressure pain threshold over the temporomandibular joint and masticatory muscles.

A blind, cross-sectional study was conducted involving 60 women ages 18 to 40 years with a diagnosis of myogenous TMD. Evaluations were performed using the Fonseca Anamnestic Index (FAI), the visual analogue scale, and algometry over the temporomandibular joint and masticatory muscles. Spearman's correlation coefficients (r_s) were calculated to measure the association between TMD severity, pain intensity, and the pressure pain threshold.

A moderate, significant, and negative correlation was found between TMD severity and the pressure pain threshold over the left masseter muscle (r_s = -0.276; P = .034). No significant correlations were found for the other variables analyzed (P = .124-.985).

Temporomandibular disorder measured using the FAI was associated to the pressure pain threshold over the masseter muscle. The significant and negative association found between the score of the FAI and the pressure pain threshold over the masseter muscle demonstrated that patients with more severe signs and symptoms of TMD had a lower pressure pain threshold.