Abstract
Psychological factors in temporomandibular disorder. This paper discusses the current situation of the research about the role of psychological factors in temporomandibular disorders. It is considered the controversy related to the clinical manifestation and diagnostic criteria of these disorders and the different approaches to their etiology. The article includes the more important results found in the research about the role of psychological factors in temporomandibular disorders are commented, describing the metodological problems in this field. Between these results, we analyze the evidence regarding to the psycophysiological hypothesis —that relates stress to the temporomandibular disorders etiology—; it is pointed out the existence of higher levels of psychopatology in temporomandibular disorder patients, specially in the muscular subtype; and finally, it is considered the contribution of psychological factors when the temporomandibular disorder is analyzed from the chronic pain approach.
