The assessment of personality, anxiety and depression in mandibular pain dysfunction subjects

The search for distinct personality characteristics of mandibular pain dysfunction patients has produced confusing and contradictory results. The present study represents an attempt to clarify this area of research by assessing reliable measures of personality (MMPI), anxiety (Speilberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory), and depression (Beck Depression Inventory) in ten subjects with a history of facial pain and TMJ sounds. Two control groups, one with TMJ sounds only and other with no history of these symptoms, were matched for sex. The results indicated that the groups did not differ on any of these measures. Discussion focuses on possible explanations for the failure to find any differences in these measures and the future of personality assessment in mandibular pain dysfunction populations.