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Updated: Oct 8, 2025
Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents
Published on: January 10, 2014
Reciprocal effects of scleroderma and temporomandibular dysfunction between patient cohorts
Chiara Pellicano1, Giorgia Leodori1, Stefano Floridia2
1Department of Translational and Precision Medicine, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
Objective:
To estimate the prevalence of temporomandibular dysfunction in scleroderma patients according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD) and to correlate it with disease variables.
Methods:
Temporomandibular dysfunction was evaluated in 75 scleroderma patients and 74 healthy controls using DC/TMD. Gastrointestinal symptoms were evaluated through the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) score in scleroderma patients.
Results:
There was no difference of prevalence in temporomandibular dysfunction [30 (40%) vs 30 (40.5%); p > 00.05] between scleroderma patients and healthy controls. Scleroderma patients had a significant reduction in all oral movements compared to healthy controls. Scleroderma patients with temporomandibular dysfunction had a statistically higher score in the UCLA distention/bloating item [1.75 (0.5-2.38) vs 0.75 (0.25-1.75); p < 0.05] than scleroderma patients without temporomandibular dysfunction.
Discussion:
Temporomandibular dysfunction prevalence between scleroderma patients and healthy controls is similar. In scleroderma patients, temporomandibular dysfunction reduces oral mobility and opening, which worsens distension/bloating.
