Incidência de disfunção temporomandibular em pacientes diagnósticados com doença de parkinson: estudo observacional

Abstract

Parkinson's Disease (PD) has a neurodegenerative and progressive character, typically associated with the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the compact portion of the substantia nigra of the midbrain. The motor symptoms of the disease are rigidity, bradykinesia and safety tremor, which can also affect the orofacial muscles, generating signs and symptoms similar to Temporomandibular Disoder (TMD). In this way, the masking of muscular comorbidities, such as TMD, can go underdiagnosed and even untreated. So, the objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of muscle and joint TMD, pain and associated headache in individuals with PD. The sample consisted of 31 patients (9 women and 22 men) aged between 40 and 75 with PD stages 1, 2 and 3 of Hoehn&Yeahr (H&Y). The individuals were recruited from the Neurology Outpatient Clinic at the Federal University of Uberlândia and analyzed using the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders: Assessment Instruments (DC/TMD) questionnaire and the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE). A slight prevalence of PD was observed in men. A direct correlation between PD and TMD cannot be stated. However, when analyzing patients with TMD, there is a greater tendency for temporomandibular joint disorders to manifest in the intermediate stage. So, it is notorius in the present study, patients with PD have a greater tendency to develop TMD, especially in the more advanced stages of parkinsonism.