Whole unstimulated salivary flow rate decreases during acute stressful condition.

Objective: To examine the influence of acute stress on salivary flow using a validated stressor paradigm.

Study Design: This uniform crossover study consisted of 40 healthy adults who underwent the Trier Social Stress Test, consisting of a 5-minute mental arithmetic task (MAT), and a nonstressful task (NST), consisting of a 5-minute free speech task. The order of the tasks was counterbalanced and unstimulated whole saliva (UWS) was measured in 2 groups of 20 participants during each 5-minute task condition, with a 10-minute washout period between tasks.

Effect of chewing gum containing Xylitol and blackberry powder on oral bacteria: A randomized controlled crossover trial.

Objective: The aim was to determine the effect of chewing gum containing xylitol and freeze-dried blackberry powder on oral bacteria.

Design: This was a randomized, controlled, cross-over study (RCT #: NCT05133557). Fifty participants chewed gum over an 8 h period, four times for 20 min at 2-hour intervals, containing 700 mg xylitol (CG) with or without 50 mg blackberry powder (BG), while wearing a stent containing a sterile enamel chip.

A Campus Climate/Violence Survey's Psychometrics and Findings.

Data from a campus climate/violence survey (CCS) include psychometric information for survey items/scales plus findings from a large state university to promote its usefulness for assessment of interpersonal violence/harassment. This CCS can thus be evaluated for its measurement and documented findings, allowing for benchmarking purposes. An innovative measurement strategy is introduced to comprehensively capture incidence of victimization types through streamlined questioning.

World Workshop in Oral Medicine VII: Reporting of IMMPACT-recommended outcome domains in randomized controlled trials of burning mouth syndrome: A systematic review.

Objectives: To determine the frequency of use of the core outcome domains published by the Initiative on Methods, Measurement, and Pain Assessment in Clinical Trials (IMMPACT) in burning mouth syndrome (BMS) randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Methods: This systematic review, conducted as part of the World Workshop on Oral Medicine VII (WWOM VII), was performed by searching the literature for studies published in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database/Cochrane Central, and Google Scholar from January 1994 (when the first BMS definition came out) through October 2017.

Results: A total of 36 RCTs (n = 2,175 study participants) were included and analyzed.

World Workshop on Oral Medicine VII: Burning mouth syndrome: A systematic review of disease definitions and diagnostic criteria utilized in randomized clinical trials.

Objective: To conduct a systematic review analyzing disease definitions and diagnostic criteria used in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving burning mouth syndrome (BMS).

Methods: A systematic search conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Cochrane Database/Cochrane Central, and Google Scholar that included RCTs on BMS published between 1994 and 2017 was performed.

Results: Considerable variability in BMS disease definitions and diagnostic criteria used created substantial heterogeneity in the selection of participants and weakened the rigor of the 36 RCTs identified.

A Meta-Analysis of Computer-Delivered Drinking Interventions for College Students: A Comprehensive Review of Studies From 2010 to 2016.

Objective: Computer-delivered drinking interventions (CDIs) are administered to tens of thousands of college students each year, yet recent evidence for their efficacy has not been summarized. This meta-analysis extends the work of past reviews and investigates the efficacy of CDIs in reducing college students' alcohol consumption and alcohol-related harms.

Method: Following the systematic review standards set by PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses), the literature was searched for published and unpublished data available from 2010 to 2016.

Mind-Body Considerations in Orofacial Pain.

This article summarizes the cognitive, behavioral, and emotional factors that contribute to the onset and maintenance of orofacial pain. These orofacial pain conditions illustrate the dynamic interplay of the mind and body and the importance of multimodal treatment approaches addressing simultaneously the cognitive, behavioral, and physiologic dimensions of facial pain. Cognitive and behavioral treatments of temporomandibular disorders based on the outcomes of randomized controlled trials are also discussed with an emphasis on using a biopsychosocial perspective when working with the persons who have temporomandibular disorders.

Vitamin D Deficiency in Pregnant Ukrainian Women: Effects of Alcohol Consumption on Vitamin D Status.

Objective: Heavy alcohol consumption can alter vitamin D status; however, the relationships between alcohol consumption and vitamin D concentrations in pregnant women have not been well studied. The aim of this study was to investigate the vitamin D status in a population of alcohol-exposed (N = 180) and low/unexposed control (N = 179) Ukrainian pregnant women.

Methods: Women who attended prenatal care facilities in 2 regions of Ukraine (Rivne and Khmelnytsky) for a routine prenatal visit were screened for the study.

Inclusion of a rest period in diaphragmatic breathing increases high frequency heart rate variability: Implications for behavioral therapy.

Heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with positive physiological and psychological effects. HRV is affected by breathing parameters, yet debate remains regarding the best breathing interventions for strengthening HRV. The objective of the current study was to test whether the inclusion of a postexhalation rest period was effective at increasing HRV, while controlling for breathing rate.

All Fatigue is Not Created Equal: The Association of Fatigue and Its Subtypes on Pain Interference in Orofacial Pain.

Objectives: Fatigue is known to be a pathway through which depression, psychological distress, pain intensity, and sleep disturbance influence pain interference, but the independent effects of fatigue on pain interference after controlling for these variables remains unknown. In addition, no study to date has tested whether fatigue subtypes of general fatigue, mental fatigue, emotional fatigue, physical fatigue, or vigor differentially predict pain interference.

Methods: The current study tested these associations using archival medical data of 2133 chronic orofacial pain patients, who completed a battery of psychological questionnaires at the time of their first appointment at an orofacial pain clinic.

Satisfaction with Life in Orofacial Pain Disorders: Associations and Theoretical Implications.

Aims: To test if patients with masticatory myofascial pain, local myalgia, centrally mediated myalgia, disc displacement, capsulitis/synovitis, or continuous neuropathic pain differed in self-reported satisfaction with life. The study also tested if satisfaction with life was similarly predicted by measures of physical, emotional, and social functioning across disorders.

Methods: Satisfaction with life, fatigue, affective distress, social support, and pain data were extracted from the medical records of 343 patients seeking treatment for chronic orofacial pain.

Efficacy of Herpes Simplex Virus Vector Encoding the Human Preproenkephalin Gene for Treatment of Facial Pain in Mice.

Aims: To determine whether herpes simplex virus-based vectors can efficiently transduce mouse trigeminal ganglion (TG) neurons and attenuate preexisting nerve injury-induced whisker pad mechanical hypersensitivity in a trigeminal inflammatory compression (TIC) neuropathic pain model.

Methods: Tissue transduction efficiencies of replication-conditional and replication-defective vectors to mouse whisker pads after topical administration and subcutaneous injection were assessed using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR). Tissue tropism and transgene expression were assessed using qPCR and reverse-transcriptase qPCR following topical application of the vectors.

Pain Intensity Moderates the Relationship Between Age and Pain Interference in Chronic Orofacial Pain Patients.

Unlabelled: BACKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Chronic pain is associated with increased interference in daily functioning that becomes more pronounced as pain intensity increases. Based on previous research showing that older adults maintain well-being in the face of pain as well as or better than their younger counterparts, the current study examined the interaction of age and pain intensity on interference in a sample of chronic orofacial pain patients.

Methods: Data were obtained from the records of 508 chronic orofacial pain patients being seen for an initial evaluation from 2008 to 2012.

Diaphragmatic breathing and its effectiveness for the management of motion sickness.

Background: Motion sickness is an unpleasant physiological state that may be controlled via nonpharmacological methods. Controlled breathing has been shown to maximize parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) tone and may have the ability to decrease motion sickness symptoms.

Methods: The effects of slow diaphragmatic breathing (DB) in a motion sickness-inducing environment were examined within motion sickness susceptible individuals.

Persistent neuropathic pain influences persistence behavior in rats.

Aims: To determine whether self-regulation can be studied successfully in a rodent model and whether persistent facial pain influences self-regulatory behavior.

Methods: Thirty male Sprague-Dawley rats, divided into two groups, (1) chronic constriction injury of the infraorbital nerve (CCI-ION) and (2) naïve, were used in a two-part behavioral paradigm of self-regulation. This paradigm consisted of both a cued go/no-go task (part one) and a persistence trial (part two).

The impact of cigarette smoking on sleep quality of patients with masticatory myofascial pain.

Aim: To evaluate the impact of cigarette smoking on the sleep quality of patients with masticatory myofascial pain and to determine whether the association between smoking and impaired sleep is influenced by other factors such as demographic, psychological, and behavioral variables.

Methods: Data from a retrospective case series of 529 patients diagnosed with masticatory myofascial pain according to group I of the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders were obtained. Patients completed a standardized pain questionnaire and psychometric tests.

Parasympathetic reactivity in fibromyalgia and temporomandibular disorder: associations with sleep problems, symptom severity, and functional impairment.

Unlabelled: Despite evidence of autonomic disturbances in chronic multisymptom illnesses such as temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and fibromyalgia, additional work is needed to characterize the role of parasympathetic reactivity in these disorders. Given the high levels of comorbidity with psychiatric disorders characterized by stronger parasympathetic decline than controls in safe contexts (leading to higher arousal), it was hypothesized that individuals with TMD and fibromyalgia would respond similarly. In this preliminary investigation, 43 women with TMD (n = 17), TMD + fibromyalgia (n = 11), or neither (controls; n = 15) completed a baseline assessment of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (a measure of parasympathetic activity) followed by ongoing parasympathetic assessment during a questionnaire period.

Somatosensory and affective contributions to emotional, social, and daily functioning in chronic pain patients.

Objective: The present study tested the independent and interactive contributions of the somatosensory component of pain (pain intensity) and the affective component of pain (pain unpleasantness) on emotional, social, and daily functioning in chronic pain patients.

Subjects: Participants were 472 patients seeking treatment for chronic orofacial pain. Mean age of the sample was 46.

Use of controlled diaphragmatic breathing for the management of motion sickness in a virtual reality environment.

Evidence indicates that activation of the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) suppresses physiological responses associated with motion sickness. Research also shows paced breathing increases PNS activation; the current study examines the use of paced diaphragmatic breathing (DB) training to quell motion sickness symptoms. Healthy participants (N = 60) were pre-screened for motion sickness susceptibility.