Hypervigilance to Pain and Sleep Quality are Confounding Variables in the Infrared Thermography Examination of the Temporomandibular Joint and Temporal and Masseter Muscles

• Published in: Dento-maxillo-facial radiology 2024-10, Vol.53 (7), p.478-487
• Main Authors: Freitas de Souza Junior, Erasmo, Vieira Pereira, Camila Maia, da Silva Barbosa, Jussara, Leão Lopes Araújo Arruda, Maria Jacinta Arêa, de Melo, Daniela Pita, Bento, Patrícia Meira
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0250-832X; 1476-542X; 1476-542X
• DOI: 10.1093/dmfr/twae032

Verify whether Hypervigilance to Pain (HP) and Sleep Quality (SQ) are confounding variables in the infrared thermography (IT) examination of the temporomandibular joint and temporal and masseter muscles. A cross-sectional and analytical study was conducted, collecting HP and SQ data from 80 participants without Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD), performing their IT and another 40 participants with TMD. For the selection of participants with and without TMD, the TMD Pain Screener questionnaire and axis I of the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders were applied. SQ was verified using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) questionnaire. For the HP assessment the Pain Vigilance and Awareness Questionnaire (PVAQ) was applied. And the IT was performed through a FLIR infrared sensor camera, model T650 Infrared. No significant correlations were found between SQ and the temperatures of the areas of interest (p > 0.05), and regarding HP, a statistically significant positive correlation was found with the dimensionless (ρ = 0.289) and non-dimensionless (ρ = 0.223) asymmetries of temporal muscle temperatures. In the temperature comparisons between the participants without TMD and the participants with TMD, significant differences were found (p