Insights Into Oral Behaviours Among Temporomandibular Disorder Patients: Associations With Psychological Distress, Sleep Propensity and Jaw Function

Objectives This study examined the occurrence of specific oral activities across different temporomandibular disorder (TMD) subtypes and explored the associations of oral behaviours with psychological distress, sleep propensity and jaw function. Additionally, it identified the sociodemographic and biopsychosocial determinants of high jaw overuse behavior (JOB) in TMD patients. Methods Participants from a dental hospital completed a comprehensive survey covering sociodemographics, the Symptom Questionnaire and relevant psychosocial/behavioural measures of the Diagnostic Criteria for TMDs (DC/TMD), as well as the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. TMD diagnoses were established utilising the DC/TMD methodology and corresponding diagnostic algorithms. Participants were subsequently categorised into intra‐articular (IT), pain‐related (PT) and combined (CT) TMD groups, as well as normal (NO), low (LO) and high (HO) JOB groups. Data were assessed with Chi‐square/non‐parametric tests and logistic regression analyses ( α = 0.05). Results The study sample included 798 participants (mean age 29.8 [SD 10.7] years; 79.6% female). Of these, 36.1%, 21.9% and 42.0% were diagnosed with IT, PT and CT, while 19.2%, 30.3% and 50.5% had NO, LO and HO, respectively. For all TMD subtypes, ‘sleeping in a position that puts pressure on the jaws’ was most prevalent (71.4%–74.9%). Significant differences in depression, anxiety, sleep propensity (HO > LO > NO) and jaw functional limitation (HO > LO, NO) were observed among JOB categories. The correlations between JOB and depression, anxiety, sleep propensity and jaw functional limitation, although significant, were weak ( r s = 0.16–0.34). Conclusions High JOB was associated with age, advanced education, sleep propensity and jaw functional limitation in TMD patients.