Parkinson's disease, temporomandibular disorders and bruxism: A pilot study

Background: Even though bruxism and Parkinson's disease (PD) share common characteristics, their relation is still not clear. Both bruxism and PD are movement disorders in addition, patients with bruxism as well as those with PD complain about musculoskeletal pain, including temporomandibular disorders (TMD) pain. Objectives: Therefore, the aim of this pilot study was to gain more insight into the possible relation between bruxism and TMD on one hand and PD on the other. Methods: In total, 801 persons gave their written informed consent and agreed to participate in the study filling in a questionnaire. Complete data were collected from 708 persons (368 with PD or Parkinsonism [PR] and 340 controls) and were included in the analysis. The questionnaire included the graded chronic pain scale, the DC/TMD oral behaviour checklist, the DC/TMD symptom questionnaire and the TMD pain screener. In addition, a question about self-reported tooth wear was included. The chi-square test and independent samples t test were used for the data analysis. Results: Patients with PD/PR reported significantly more often bruxism during sleep and wakefulness than controls. Also, patients with PD/PR had more often possible TMD and reported a significantly higher mean pain intensity in the orofacial region than controls. There was no significant difference in complaints of jaw locking between the patient group and the control group. A tendency towards a significant association was found between PD/PR and tooth wear. Conclusion: There is a relation between PD/PR and bruxism. Furthermore, a relation of PD/PR with TMD pain is suggested to be present