Mental health in patients with temporomandibular disorders referring to School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Science

Introduction: The aim of this study was to evaluate mental health in temporomandibular disorders (TMD) patients considering: Gender, age, and grade of chronic pain scales (GCPS). Materials and Methods: The data were collected using general health questionnaire (GHQ-28) for evaluating mental health and research diagnostic criteria for TMD for evaluating GCPS, age, and gender from 75 TMD patient seeking treatment at Dental School of Tehran University of Medical Science and Shariati Hospital during 13 months and 75 also non-patient group without TMD diagnosis. Result: According to the results from GHQ questionnaire, total scores of the questionnaire which shows mental impairment and all subscales except for social dysfunction were significantly higher in patients in comparison with non-patients (P 0.0500). Patients with higher GCPS had higher scores in subscales of GHQ-28 and its total score (P 0.0500) except for ‘‘social dysfunction.’’ Considering gender in the patient group except for social dysfunction TMD had greater impacts on women’s mental health rather than men. Older individuals revealed the lower likelihood of being depressed. Conclusion: TMD and chronic pain affect mental health negatively so that patients have the poorer mental health in comparison with non-patients.