Teeth contacting habit as a contributing factor to chronic pain in patients with temporomandibular disorders

Many different factors are known to cause and perpetuate the symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). However, the roles of parafunctional factors have not been clearly elucidated. We found one of these habits in the clinical setting. This parafunctional habit involves daily light touching of the upper and lower teeth, when the mouth is closed. We named this habit Teeth Contacting Habit (TCH). [OBJECTIVES] To investigate the following hypotheses: 1) TCH is associated with perpetuation of chronic pain of TMD patients; 2) TCH is associated with other behavioral factors. [METHODS] Two hundred and twenty-nine TMD outpatients with chronic pain were analyzed with multivariate logistic regression models. [RESULTS] TCH was found in 52.4% of patients. Patients with TCH and pain lasting for more than four months were less likely to experience improvements in pain at the first visit (OR = 1.944, p = 0.043). Other factors associated with TCH were as follows: unilateral chewing (OR = 2.802) and involvement in a precision job (OR = 2.195). [CONCLUSION] TCH can prolong TMD pain and is associated with other behavioral factors.