Diagnostic subgroups of craniomandibular disorders. Part I: Self-report data and clinical findings

An overview is given of the most commonly investigated signs and symptoms associated with craniomandibular disorders as detected in a population of patients with craniomandibular disorders and in four defined diagnostic subgroups. The information was collected with a questionnaire and during an extensive clinical examination. Comparison of self-report and clinical data indicated that these two methods reveal different aspects of the patient's complaints and should be interpreted in their own way. The results showed that no statistically significant differences could be found between the four diagnostic subgroups with respect to occlusal factors, trauma, and clinically assessed parafunctional habits. The groups differed considerably with respect to general characteristics, pain variables, signs of craniomandibular disorders, self-reported para-functional habits, psychosocial factors, and general health factors. However, despite the reduction in clinical characteristics of the four subgroups, there was little reduction in the diversity of factors associated with craniomandibular disorders. This implicates that almost all factors associated with craniomandibular disorders may influence the initiation and perpetuation of the different disorders in the individual patient, and therefore, remain of interest in future research.