March 3, 2026Open Access

Psychological Features Associated With Awake Bruxism in Painful TMD : The Role of Anxiety

Key Points

Awake bruxism is significantly more frequent in patients experiencing elevated anxiety levels, indicating a potential psychological link.
A notable 50% of TMD patients with anxiety reported increased pain intensity and psychological distress associated with bruxism.
The analysis highlights the relationship between psychological distress and both tooth clenching and pain in TMD patients suffering from anxiety.
These findings emphasize the need for psychological assessments in TMD treatment plans, given the strong correlation with bruxism.

Abstract

These findings underscore that TMD patients with elevated clinical symptoms of anxiety exhibit significantly higher frequencies of AB, specifically tooth clenching, psychological distress and pain intensity.

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Cite This Study

Flores et al. (Wed,) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69a75d1ec6e9836116a269ff https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.70158

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