Primary headaches interfere with the efficacy of temporomandibular disorders management

Objectives: this cross-sectional study aimed to evaluate the influence of primary headache (ph) on efficacy of a temporomandibular disorders (tmd) conservative therapy and its association with the presence of self-reported parafunctional habits. sample and methods: sample was composed of 400 medical records,divided into four groups: i) muscular tmd (n=64); ii) muscular tmd+ph (n=48); iii) muscular tmd+articular tmd (n=173); iv) muscular tmd+articular tmd+ph (n=115). all groups had undergone a tmd therapy for three months with a stabilization appliance and counseling for habits and behavioral changes,with no specific headache management. current pain intensity and existence or not of self-reported bruxism were assessed. repeated measures anova and chi-square test followed by odds were used for statistical analysis,with a significance level of 5%. results: results of this study showed that: (1) a conservative therapy with stabilization appliance and counseling for habits and behavioral changes was effective in the tmd pain relief; (2) groups with an additional diagnosis of ph had worsened the pain improvement significantly; and (3) no association between the presence of self-reported bruxism and ph was found. conclusions: this study could elucidate the important effect that headache may have on the tmd management. © 2015,faculdade de odontologia de bauru. all rights reserved.