Pain perception and morbidity after peri-implant surgeries in patients with and without temporomandibular disorder - A clinical study.

Background: Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) involves various conditions affecting the anatomy and functional characteristics of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ). Hence, this study evaluated pain perception and morbidity after dental implant surgeries in patients with and without TMD.

Material and methods: It is a prospective randomized clinical trial with 50 participants with and without TMD, randomly selected for rehabilitation procedures with dental implants. Pain scores were recorded at seven, 14, and 21 postoperative days using a visual analog scale (VAS) for reporting pain on a scale from 0 to 10. The data were described from absolute and relative frequencies and median pain scores and then stratified between patients with and without TMD. Fisher's exact tests compared the distribution of sex, surgery duration, and limitations for patients with and without TMD. Kruskal-Wallis tests related pain scores between the groups in the three evaluated periods. All tests applied a 5% significance level.

Results: All patients (with and without TMD) subjected to peri-implant surgeries were analyzed. Pain and morbidity levels in the seventh (p< 0.001) and 14th (p = 0.002) postoperative days were higher in TMD patients. The perceived pain score in the seventh and 14th postoperative days was higher in male TMD patients than in females.

Conclusions: Patients diagnosed with TMD presented higher pain and morbidity levels on the first 14 postoperative days. However, pain significantly reduced over time. Key words:Temporomandibular disorder, pain, dental implant, oral rehabilitation.