“10% of the population suffers from temporomandibular pains”

Rome, 22 March (beraking latest news Health) – Grit your teeth to overcome stress. It is not just a saying and for this reason, more and more people in times of pandemic anxiety suffer from pain in the jaw joint. “The stress caused, even unconsciously, by the pandemic, builds a state of defense in our body that increases the muscular tensions that usually serve to prepare us for an attack”, explains Professor Piero Cascone, head of maxillofacial surgery at the Policlinico Umberto I.

“This physiological reaction of the organism – explains Cascone – causes an increase in joint problems, with temporal and cervical pain. These joint pains in the temporomandibular area are apparently trivial, but they manifest themselves acutely in the transmission to the muscular level. Our category of maxillofacial surgeons is noticing the growth of this phenomenon “.

These pains and the related pathologies that result must be monitored by specialists in the sector: the dentist, the gnathologist, the dental specialist who, in team with maxillofacial surgeons and other professionals, allow to solve the temporomandibular problems of the ‘head-neck area.

“In the musculoskeletal field, after lumbar pain, temporomandibular disorders represent the second cause of musculoskeletal pain that affects Italians – underlines Carlo Di Paolo, president of Aigedo, the Italian association of gnathology and gold pain. facial – The percentages are constantly increasing and it is estimated that about 10% of the adult population has pain in this area. These disorders amplify other problems such as headache, neck pain or other musculoskeletal pain, causing severe suffering in patients . This is why we must intervene in an early and decisive manner. All ages are affected across the board – explains President Aigedo – and the female population is mainly affected “. But “children and adolescents are also involved, even if for them the symptoms are not always highlighted early because they present greater difficulties in diagnosis. These pains cause discomfort in the social sphere and in school and work activities, given the difficulties they experience. talking, chewing, swallowing, smiling “.