Incidence of ‘headache attributed to temporomandibular disease’ in patients with clicking sound in the region temporomandibular joint

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the headache complaint and features in patients referred to ear nose throat clinics with pain in the temporomandibular joint ( TMJ) region. Forty-seven patients with complaints of a clicking sound in the TMJ region and pain were included in our study. Patients completed a questionnaire on the headache and the nature of the pain. The patients were asked to mark the level of pain on a visual analogue scale. Of a total of 47 patients, 28 were women (59.6%) and 19 were men (40.4%); their age ranged from 19 to 56 years (mean=30.5±9.8 years). There were 33/47 patients with cephalalgia in the head region, except TMJ disorders (70.2%); 12 of these were bilateral and 21 were unilateral. In all, 14/47 patients described pain only in the TMJ region (29.8%). Four patients described at least one experience of jaw locking in their life time (4/47). Visual analogue scale scores of the patients were 3.9±1.7. The nature of the pain was also analyzed. TMJ 2014 consortium network showed that headache attributed to TMD may be in associated with cephalalgia. The rate of headache is higher in patients with TMJ disorders. TMJ disorders should also be kept in mind in the differential diagnosis of cephalalgia considering the quality of life of patients.