Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache最新文献

{"title":"Association between malocclusion and temporomandibular joint disorders: evidence from a Mendelian randomization study.","authors":"Zhouqiang Wu, Sen Wang, Chang Liu, Zhiyi Zhao, Yan Feng, Yue Shan, Wen Li, Mengjie Wu","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.062","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.062","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Although malocclusion and temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) frequently co-occur in clinical practice, controversy persists regarding whether this overlap reflects a pathophysiological causal relationship or incidental concurrence. This study aimed to investigate the potential association between malocclusion and TMD using a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) approach.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Bidirectional two-sample MR was performed to evaluate the potential causal relationship between malocclusion and TMD. Summary statistics for malocclusion were obtained from the FinnGen consortium, while TMD datasets were obtained from the FinnGen consortium and an independent genome-wide association study (GWAS) of the UK Biobank (UKB). To account for multiple comparisons, a Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold of 0.00625 was applied. The strength of the instrumental variables (IVs) was assessed using <i>F</i>-statistics. Causal inference was conducted using multiple MR methods, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), maximum likelihood estimation, MR-Egger regression, weighted median (WM), and penalized weighted median analyses. Sensitivity analyses were performed using Cochran's Q test for heterogeneity, MR-Egger intercept analysis, Mendelian Randomization Pleiotropy RESidual Sum and Outlier (MR-PRESSO) global outlier assessment, and iterative leave-one-out validation.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Convergent evidence from IVW, WM, and penalized weighted median estimators suggested potential causal effects of distal bite, deep bite, and open bite on TMD susceptibility. After Bonferroni correction, deep bite remained significantly associated with TMD. The mean <i>F</i>-statistics for the IVs ranged from 22.23 to 23.62 across malocclusion types, indicating adequate instrument strength. Reverse MR analysis using 130 TMD-related Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) showed no evidence supporting a causal effect of TMD on malocclusion.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This MR study provides evidence that several malocclusion types, including distal bite, deep bite, and open bite, are potentially causally associated with TMD, with deep bite showing the strongest association.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"74-82"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Beyond the jaw: vocal, oropharyngeal and cognitive-linguistic biomarkers for precision pain phenotyping in TMD.","authors":"Candice J Adams-Mitchell, Jacob Koshy, Rory Reever, Amir Shaikh, Patricia Lopes Cabrera, Selenia Rubio, Margarete C Ribeiro-Dasilva, Roger B Fillingim","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.056","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.056","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) represent a group of conditions affecting the temporomandibular joint and its associated musculature. TMD is the leading cause of chronic orofacial pain. Current assessment relies heavily on patient-reported outcomes, which capture pain intensity and its impact but provide limited mechanistic or functional insight. This narrative conceptual review proposes a framework for investigating vocal, oropharyngeal, and cognitive-linguistic (VOCL) features as candidate behavioral biomarkers for precision pain phenotyping in TMD. We synthesize the literature from TMD and related neurological and chronic pain conditions to examine how alterations in neuromuscular control, autonomic regulation, and cognitive burden could plausibly manifest as changes in acoustic voice metrics, motor speech performance, swallowing function, and cognitive-linguistic tasks. Given the limited TMD-specific empirical evidence available to date, we outline a staged validation roadmap that specifies TMD subgroups, study designs, confounder control strategies, and reliability considerations necessary before clinical application. While promising, VOCL features should be regarded as investigational constructs requiring rigorous validation. Establishing standardized protocols and integrating VOCL measures with psychological and physiological domains may clarify the potential role of VOCL in TMD phenotyping and monitoring.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"1-9"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220895","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Associations between caffeine consumption, anxiety, temporomandibular disorders, and oral behaviors in university students in Brazil-a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Ana Luiza Azevedo Gontijo, Monalisa Teixeira Santos de Macedo, Stefany Joaquina Sousa Farias, Edivar Ximenes de Aragao Junior, Karoline Bittencourt Mendes Leitão, Evelyn Mikaela Kogawa, Rodrigo Antonio de Medeiros","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.061","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.061","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This cross-sectional study investigated the associations between caffeine consumption, caffeine-related expectations, anxiety symptoms, painful temporomandibular disorder (TMD) symptoms, and oral behaviors in university students.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Students from the Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Brasília completed a self-administered questionnaire assessing their sociodemographic characteristics, caffeine consumption frequency, expected effects of caffeine, anxiety symptoms, painful TMD symptoms, and oral behaviors. Associations between categorical variables were analyzed using the chi-square or Fisher's exact tests, and correlations between caffeine consumption and expectancy domains were assessed using Spearman's correlation coefficient. Statistical analyses were performed at a significance level of 5%.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 182 students participated in this study. Painful TMD symptoms were significantly more prevalent among students with severe anxiety (<i>p</i> < 0.001). A higher prevalence was also observed among female participants and those who reported frequent oral behaviors. Oral behaviors were significantly associated with both anxiety symptoms and female sex (<i>p</i> < 0.001). No significant association was found between overall caffeine consumption and oral behaviors. However, daily black coffee consumption was significantly associated with severe anxiety (<i>p</i> < 0.001). Additionally, specific types of caffeinated products were positively correlated with distinct expectations about their effects, such as increased energy, dependence, and mood enhancement.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although overall caffeine consumption was not directly associated with oral behaviors or painful TMD symptoms, daily black coffee intake was associated with higher anxiety levels in this study sample. These findings suggest a possible association between black coffee consumption, anxiety symptoms, and painful TMD-related outcomes; although causality cannot be established because of the observational design of the study.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"65-73"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220951","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Compartment-specific redox modulation in migraine with aura: a systematic review of context-dependent mechanisms.","authors":"Fengyu Li, Qishen Duan, Yu Li, Yilang Tian, Lijuan Lu, Xin Xin, Guoliang Zhu, Ying Zhou, Fanyi Kong","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.059","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.059","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Preventive therapies for migraine with aura (MA) remain suboptimal, with 37-54% of patients failing to achieve a >50% reduction in migraine days despite calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-targeted therapies, while broad-spectrum antioxidants show inconsistent benefits. This gap suggests that indiscriminate reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging is insufficient, but emerging evidence indicates that ROS function as compartment-specific signaling molecules rather than uniform toxins. Whether this compartment-specific redox modulation occurs within the cortical spreading depression (CSD) cascade and contributes to the limited efficacy of antioxidant therapies remains unclear. We synthesized preclinical evidence to characterize CSD-redox interactions and identify the translational gap limiting precision strategies for MA.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We systematically searched five databases through June 2025 following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 guidelines. Risk of bias was assessed using the Systematic Review Centre for Laboratory Animal Experimentation (SYRCLE) risk-of-bias tool. Given the anticipated heterogeneity, a qualitative synthesis was conducted.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thirteen studies (594 animals, 85% male) were included. CSD-evoked ROS were associated with transient receptor potential ankyrin 1 (TRPA1)/CGRP signaling and oxidative wavefront propagation. Under bioenergetic stress, ROS accumulation was associated with metabolic collapse, which may trigger CSD onset. Microglial M1-like polarization was associated with reduced CSD thresholds. High-dose melatonin accelerated CSD propagation without improving oxidative markers, suggesting limitations of global antioxidant strategies rather than invalidation of the redox framework. Cell-specific protective mechanisms emerged through microglial M2a-like polarization and compartment-specific stabilization of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>CSD-redox interactions represent a context-dependent reciprocal axis. Clinical failure of broad-spectrum scavengers may reflect disruption of oxidative eustress. Modulators of microglial M2a-like phenotype and compartment-specific bioenergetic stabilizers should be prioritized for future drug development. Intranasal IGF-1 represents a potentially translatable strategy for attenuating trigeminal CGRP release and oxidative markers, although this requires validation in female cohorts and assessment of sex-specific effects.</p><p><strong>The prospero registration: </strong>CRD420251143073.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"39-53"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220992","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Clinical predictors of treatment success following Gasserian ganglion conventional radiofrequency in trigeminal neuralgia: secondary cohort analysis.","authors":"Mesut Bakır, Kaan Yavuz, Bedri İlcan, Esra Bayburtluoğlu, Şebnem Rumeli","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.065","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.065","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The study aimed to identify clinical predictors associated with treatment success following Gasserian ganglion conventional radiofrequency (CRF) in patients with trigeminal neuralgia (TN), with particular focus on the predictive value of early clinical response.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective secondary cohort analysis included 37 patients with classical TN who underwent Gasserian ganglion CRF at a tertiary pain clinic. Treatment success was defined as a ≥50% reduction in Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) score at 6 months compared with baseline. Demographic characteristics, baseline pain severity, trigeminal branch involvement, early post-procedural pain response, complications, additional treatment requirements, and patient satisfaction scores were analyzed. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to evaluate the predictive performance of early pain reduction for 6-month treatment success.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Twenty-nine patients (78.4%) achieved treatment success at 6 months. The success group demonstrated significantly higher median age (67 <i>vs.</i> 54.5 years, <i>p</i> = 0.006) and baseline pain intensity (NRS0: 10 <i>vs.</i> 8, <i>p</i> = 0.007) compared with the non-success group. Early treatment response at 1 month was strongly associated with 6-month success. Median percentage reduction in NRS score at 1 month was significantly greater in the success group (60% <i>vs.</i> 31.25%, <i>p</i> = 0.008). Achieving ≥50% pain reduction at 1 month was significantly associated with treatment success at 6 months (<i>p</i> = 0.0005). ROC analysis demonstrated good predictive performance for early pain reduction (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.804), with a sensitivity of 82.8% and specificity of 87.5% for the ≥50% cutoff. Patient satisfaction scores were higher among patients with treatment success (<i>p</i> < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Early post-procedural pain reduction appears to be a clinically useful marker of sustained mid-term treatment success after Gasserian ganglion CRF in TN. In particular, a ≥50% reduction in NRS score at 1 month may help identify patients likely to maintain meaningful pain relief at 6 months.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"108-113"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Source-bound perceptual persistence in chronic orofacial symptoms: a hypothesis framework.","authors":"Paul A M Versteegh","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.057","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.057","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Persistent orofacial symptoms often remain locally compelling, disabling, and treatment-resistant when their ongoing burden is insufficiently explained by current nociceptive input, neurogenic pathology, or other identifiable peripheral findings. This narrative, theory-driven review develops source-bound perceptual persistence as a hypothesis-generating framework for understanding such conditions across pain-dominant, dysaesthetic, and occlusal-percept presentations. The central construct is source dominance in perceptual persistence: the extent to which a suspected orofacial source continues to organize perception, action, treatment seeking, clinical reasoning, and expectations of recovery. The framework is informed by four partially overlapping literatures concerning signal availability in sensory and pain systems, symptom-perception mechanisms of credibility and failed updating, orofacial sensorimotor mechanisms of active resampling, and clinical embedding mechanisms of source stabilization. We propose that chronic orofacial persistence may arise through a recurrent maintenance loop in which sensory evidence remains available, becomes credible as bodily evidence, is repeatedly resampled through oral action, and becomes clinically or biographically embedded around a suspected orofacial source. The framework helps explain why pain, burning, pressure, dysaesthesia, occlusal wrongness, or other orofacial experiences may differ in sensory quality and in their dominant mechanisms, yet converge when they remain perceptually real, accessible to repeated oral testing, and clinically actionable. Source-bound perceptual persistence is proposed as an integrative maintenance framework for generating empirically testable hypotheses about how chronic orofacial symptoms remain organized around suspected sources when current peripheral findings no longer adequately explain the ongoing symptom burden.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"10-23"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149221002","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Gut microbial and metabolomic alterations associated with herpetic trigeminal neuralgia: an exploratory multi-omics study.","authors":"Mingyue Tian, Yangyang Wang, Cong Li, Jiaming Fan, Qing Chen, Huilian Bu, Xiaochong Fan, Qingying Liu","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.067","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.067","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Herpetic trigeminal neuralgia (HTN) is a neuropathic pain disorder caused by varicella-zoster virus invasion of the trigeminal nerve, but its mechanisms remain poorly elucidated. Accumulating evidence implicates gut microbiota dysbiosis and metabolic perturbations in modulating chronic pain via the gut-brain axis, yet their roles in HTN have not been systematically explored.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Integrated multi-omics analysis was performed on 19 patients with HTN and 18 healthy controls. Fecal metagenomic sequencing characterized gut microbial composition and function. Untargeted metabolomics profiled metabolic signatures in fecal and circulating samples. Weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and random forest modeling screened pivotal microbial and metabolic features associated with HTN. Correlation analysis between differential metabolites and clinical pain scores validated the translational potential of identified alterations.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>HTN patients showed significantly reduced gut microbial diversity, with enriched <i>Proteobacteria</i>, depleted butyrate-producing bacteria (including <i>Faecalibacterium</i>, <i>Roseburia</i>, and <i>Lachnospira</i>), and expanded opportunistic pathogens (<i>Escherichia coli</i> and [<i>Ruminococcus</i>] <i>gnavus</i>). Microbial pathways for pH homeostasis and oxidative stress defense were downregulated. Metabolomic analysis identified differential metabolites, primarily involving nicotinate/nicotinamide metabolism and retrograde endocannabinoid signaling. WGCNA and random forest analyses suggested fecal metabolites as potential candidate features, with associations between gut microbial dysregulation and systemic metabolic changes. Furthermore, screened metabolites correlated significantly with pain scores.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This study provides multi-omics evidence of gut microbial and metabolic dysregulation in HTN, generating hypotheses for further mechanistic research. Large-scale, multicenter prospective cohorts with standardized metadata collection are needed to validate these findings.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"130-145"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149221027","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Clinical outcomes and safety of Five Element Acupuncture for preventive treatment of primary headache disorders: a multi-center real-world longitudinal observational study.","authors":"Shuo Cui, Yaping Liu, Jingjing Wang, Wenqian Ma, Zhenshan Luo, Ziwei Song, Zhongjie Chen, Jincao Zhou, Yuying Wang, Qianfeng Huang, Chao Yu, Yanping Che, Zhishuai Liu, Yaoci Song, Yuqing Yin, Ruijuan Liu, Huan Wang, Dehua Tian, Fuyang Xian, Xiaohui Zhan, Jiping Li, Shengyuan Zhou","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.064","DOIUrl":"10.22514/jofph.2026.064","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>To observe the real-world association of Five Element Acupuncture (FEA) with symptom improvement when used for the preventive treatment of primary headache disorders.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective case series study was conducted across multiple centers in China. Patients diagnosed with migraine, tension-type headache (TTH), or trigeminal autonomic cephalalgias (TACs) according to the International Classification of Headache Disorders, Third Edition (ICHD-3), received standardized FEA treatment once every 1-2 weeks for 12 weeks, followed by a 12-week follow-up. Outcomes included headache days per 4 weeks, headache frequency, headache intensity (visual analog scale, VAS), total analgesic units, and headache-related quality of life (Headache Impact Test-6, HIT-6). Safety was assessed by recording acupuncture-related adverse events (AEs). Linear mixed models were used for analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ninety-three participants were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. Headache days were significantly reduced from baseline to the 12-week treatment (<i>p</i> < 0.001, <i>d</i> = -2.01, 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) (-2.37, -1.65)) and 12-week follow-up (<i>p</i> < 0.001, <i>d</i> = -2.50, 95% CI (-2.99, -2.01)) time points. Significant improvements were also noted in headache frequency, VAS scores, total analgesic units, and HIT-6 scores (all <i>p</i> < 0.001). Headache days and HIT-6 scores showed further significant improvement during the follow-up period compared to the end of treatment (<i>p</i> = 0.009 and <i>p</i> < 0.001, respectively). No acupuncture-related AEs were reported.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This real-world exploratory observational study suggests that FEA is associated with significant improvements in headache days, headache frequency, headache intensity, analgesic use, and quality of life, with sustained effects noted during follow-up. These findings provide preliminary observational evidence that may inform the design of future randomized controlled trials.</p><p><strong>Clinical trial registration: </strong>Registration No.: ChiCTR2200061878.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"92-107"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220879","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Functional stabilization and neuromuscular adaptation in active condylar hyperplasia: a comparative cohort study.","authors":"Andrea Erica Bono, Mariana Gonzalvo","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.066","DOIUrl":"10.22514/jofph.2026.066","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Active unilateral condylar hyperplasia (UCH) is a progressive mandibular growth disorder characterized by facial asymmetry, occlusal alteration, and mandibular deviation. Although single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) is widely used to assess condylar hyperactivity, little is known about the clinical and neuromuscular adaptations occurring during the observation period before definitive treatment. This study evaluated whether conservative functional stabilization is associated with adaptive clinical and neuromuscular changes during this period.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This prospective comparative observational cohort study included 49 patients with active unilateral condylar hyperplasia confirmed by SPECT/CT. Thirty-seven patients received full-time orthopedic stabilization with a rigid mandibular intraoral orthosis, whereas 12 were managed by observation alone. Clinical outcomes included pain intensity, maximum mouth opening, and mandibular midline deviation. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was performed at baseline and after approximately 3 months. SPECT/CT examinations were obtained at baseline and follow-up (mean, approximately 14 months). Within-group and between-group comparisons, effect sizes, percentage changes, and 95% confidence intervals were calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Orthopedic stabilization significantly improved mandibular midline deviation, maximum mouth opening, and neuromuscular function. Composite resting sEMG activity decreased, whereas functional muscle recruitment increased in the treated cohort. In contrast, the observation cohort demonstrated increased resting muscle activity with minimal functional changes. Significant between-group differences were observed for resting and functional sEMG outcomes. SPECT/CT metabolic changes were also detected, but were less consistent and clinically informative than the documented clinical and neuromuscular adaptations.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Full-time orthopedic stabilization was associated with measurable clinical and neuromuscular adaptation during the observation period preceding definitive treatment. These findings support functional stabilization as a conservative approach that may promote a more favorable neuromuscular and biomechanical environment while treatment decisions are being made. SPECT/CT findings should be interpreted as complementary semiquantitative observations rather than definitive indicators of growth modification.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"114-129"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149221006","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Association between central sensitization inventory and taste alterations in patients with burning mouth syndrome: a cross-sectional study.","authors":"Keita Takizawa, Kana Kawai-Ozasa, Sana Ohnuma, Fu Sakai, Kohei Shimizu, Eli Eliav, Noboru Noma","doi":"10.22514/jofph.2026.063","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.22514/jofph.2026.063","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic condition characterized by a burning sensation in the mouth without observable lesions, lasting over two hours daily for more than three months. In this study, we aimed to examine whether central sensitization inventory (CSI) scores differ between primary and secondary BMS (SBMS), arising from identifiable causes, and to explore their associations with taste thresholds and pain characteristics.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study was conducted between February 2022 and September 2025 and included 30 patients with BMS, 30 patients with SBMS, and 30 healthy controls. Taste assessments, including sweet, salty, sour, and bitter solutions and CSI evaluations, were performed. Statistical analyses, including correlation and comparison tests, were performed using the SPSS software.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Patients with BMS exhibited significantly larger pain visual analog scale (VAS) and CSI scores than those with SBMS. There were no significant differences in taste perception thresholds for the four flavors among the three groups. CSI scores showed significant positive correlations with taste thresholds for sweetness, saltiness, and bitterness in the BMS group, whereas no such correlations were observed in the SBMS group. The pain VAS scores in the BMS group were positively correlated with age and CSI scores. Receiver operating characteristic analysis revealed acceptable CSI discrimination for distinguishing BMS from SBMS (Area under the curve = 0.76). A cutoff of 27 yielded 70% sensitivity and 77% specificity, with an overall accuracy of 73%.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Although no significant differences in taste thresholds were observed among the three groups, significant associations between the CSI scores and taste thresholds were identified exclusively in patients with BMS. While CSI scores do not directly assess central sensitization, they might reflect clinical features associated with central sensitization-related symptom burden in BMS, as observed for taste thresholds, pain intensity, and age. These findings suggest that taste alterations in BMS might be associated with central sensitization-related clinical features.</p>","PeriodicalId":48800,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Oral & Facial Pain and Headache","volume":"40 5","pages":"83-91"},"PeriodicalIF":2.9,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"149220892","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}