SECTION 1 A 57-year-old man presented with spasms of his left jaw. Two years prior, he had developed left-sided facial numbness followed by development of left-sided shock-like pain and then involuntary and repetitive movements of the jaw-closing muscles. Jaw muscle contractions were episodic, interfered with chewing and talking, and led to frequent tongue biting. Individual spasms varied from ...

The infamous "phossy jaw" that created an epidemic of exposed bone osteonecrosis exclusively in the jaws began around 1858 and continued until 1906, with only a few cases appearing since that time. This epidemic of osteonecrosis produced pain, swelling, debilitation, and a reported mortality of 20% and was linked to "yellow phosphorous," the key ingredient in "strike-anywhere" matches. In match...

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a generic term used for any problem concerning the jaw joint. Injury to the jaw, temporomandibular joint, or muscles of the head and neck can cause TMD. Other possible causes include grinding or clenching the teeth, which puts a lot of pressure on the TMJ; dislocation of the disc; presence of osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis in the TMJ; stress, which ca...

BACKGROUND: Sleep bruxism is a common sleep disorder with unclear etiology and no definitive treatment. Recent suggested medications are not often practically used due to their numerous limitations. Based on the fact that sleep bruxism occurs most often in the second stage of non-REM sleep, this study aimed to assess the effect of trazodone on sleep bruxism. METHODS: This pilot study was conduc...

OBJECTIVES To answer the clinical research question: in patients with myofascial pain, are there any differences in the surface electromyography (sEMG) activity of muscles of the painful and nonpainful sides that can be detected by commercially available devices? METHODS The study sample (N = 39; 64% F, mean age 35.7 ± 15 years) consisted of patients seeking for temporomandibular disorders Te...

BACKGROUND Myogenous temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are considered to be a common musculoskeletal condition. No studies exist comparing intra-oral myofascial therapies to education, self-care and exercise (ESC) for TMD. This study evaluated short-term differences in pain and mouth opening range between intra-oral myofascial therapy (IMT) and an ESC program. METHODS Forty-six participants w...

temporomandibular joint (tmj) diseases and disorders refer to a complex and poorly understood set of conditions, manifested by pain in the area of the jaw and associated muscles and limitations in the ability to make the normal movements of speech, facial expression, eating, chewing, and swallowing. the conventional soft occlusal splint therapy is a much safer and effective mode of a conservati...

The purpose of this study was to examine if there is a human jaw-tongue reflex. This study was carried out in seven healthy adult males and recorded the genioglossus muscle activity during various functions by using a miniature intraoral surface electrode, which is comparable with intramuscular fine-wire electrodes, but without pain or disturbance of the tongue movement. The ipsilateral massete...

Bruxism is the ineffective rubbing of the lower teeth into the upper teeth. In daily use among people, it is called tooth grinding disease. Bruxism is usually a phenomenon that occurs during exercise or when the person feels nervous at the moment when strong jaw movements cause jaw tightening and teeth grinding. It is common in our society, but in general, individuals are not aware of these hab...

background and aims. orofacial pain is one of the most common reasons for attendance at the dental clinic. the prevalence and the sources of orofacial pain vary from place to place and patients’ response to pain also differs. the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence and pattern of orofacial pain as well as the factors influencing patients’ response to orofacial pain among patients ...