Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders among psychoactive substances abusers: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on substance abuse patterns in recent times. Many people have experienced increased stress, anxiety, and social isolation, which has led to higher rates of substance abuse and addiction. It impacts on the orofacial region, particularly temporomandibular joint (TMJ). This review was undertaken to assess the association between substance abuse and temporomandibular disorders. (TMDs). MATERIALS AND METHODS: The databases of PubMed, Google Scholar, Web of Science and Cochrane were searched for articles based of set PECO criteria. A comprehensive search using keywords of "Psychoactive substances", "Illegal substances", "substance abuse", "narcotics", "temporomandibular joint" and "temporomandibular joint disorders" yielded a total of 1405 articles. Modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale for observational studies assessed the risk of bias of included studies. RESULTS: Two studies were reviewed. Samples recruited were either from rehabilitation centres or prisoners and fell in the second to fourth decade. A definite association was noted between psychoactive substance and TMDs. Moderate to low risk of bias was noted in all the studies evaluated. CONCLUSION: Further research is needed to better understand the nature of this relationship and the underlying mechanisms involved. It is important for healthcare providers to be aware of this potential association and to screen for substance abuse in patients with TMD symptoms.

Teleorthodontics: Where Are We Going? From Skepticism to the Clinical Applications of a New Medical Communication and Management System.

Teleorthodontics represents the orthodontic care system involving remote management of orthodontic treatment. Despite skepticism, there are several advantages of including teleorthodontics in the clinical orthodontic practice. In the present review, we discuss the lights and shadows of this new communication healthcare system and its applications in the field of orthodontics that is destined to change the future of our clinical practice. For this purpose, we have provided a point-to-point analysis based on data from the most valuable scientific evidence on this topic. The information and data discussed in the present paper were obtained from the most relevant studies evaluating the performance of teleorthodontics and remote monitoring systems in clinical practice.