Association among headache, temporomandibular disorder, and awake bruxism: A cross‐sectional study

Objective To evaluate the association between headache, myofascial temporomandibular disorder (TMD), and awake bruxism (AB). Background Bruxism seems to act as a risk factor for TMD and its associated comorbidities, such as headaches. Methods In total, 406 medical records of individuals who sought care at a university dental clinic were screened. The Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders was used to assess and diagnose TMD, as well as to obtain self‐reports of AB and headache. Results The sample consisted of 307 medical records. About 72.5% (221/305) of the sample reported having headaches, and 67.4% (180/267) and 68.4% (210/307) were diagnosed with AB and TMD, respectively. Individuals who reported having AB (odds ratio [OR], 2.28; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.09–4.7) and who were diagnosed with myofascial TMD (OR, 2.53; 95% CI, 1.15–5.5) were more likely to have had headaches in the past 6 months when compared with patients without myofascial TMD and bruxism. Also, individuals who self‐reported headache were 2.27 times (95% CI, 1.09–4.7) more likely to have AB and 2.45 times (95% CI, 1.13–5.34) more likely to have myofascial pain than individuals without headaches. Conclusions Individuals with myofascial TMD, headaches, or AB were more likely to have at least one of the other conditions.