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Objectives: Opiorphin is a recently discovered peptide shown to inhibit the enkephalin-degrading enzymes and prolong the effects of enkephalins. Although opiorphin is found in high concentrations in saliva, the relationship between salivary opiorphin and orofacial pains is not yet fully understood. We aimed to determine salivary opiorphin concentrations in dental pain related to symptomatic irreversible pulpitis (SIP), and symptomatic apical periodontitis (SAP)., Design: 39 patients participated in this study. The participants were categorized into SIP and SAP based on their diagnosis. All the patients were treated with root canal treatment. Saliva specimens were collected, and pain levels were recorded at pre-treatment, 7 days post-treatment and 30 days post-treatment. Saliva opiorphin levels were measured using a commercially available ELISA kit. Pre-treatment and post-treatment opiorphin levels were evaluated using repeated measures ANOVA. Correlations between VAS scores, opiorphin levels and age were evaluated using Spearman's Rank Correlation., Results: The average saliva opiorphin level pre-treatment, 7 days post-treatment and 30 days post-treatment were 31.28 ± 7.10 ng/ml, 20.41 ± 2.67 ng/ml and 18.61 ± 2.05 ng/ml respectively. Significantly higher pre-treatment opiorphin levels were observed in the SIP group compared to the SAP group. A strong correlation was observed between the pre-treatment pain levels and the saliva opiorphin concentrations., Conclusions: Our findings indicate that saliva opiorphin levels increase in inflammation related dental pain. The level of salivary opiorphin is strongly correlated with the reported level of pain. The extent of the inflammation (pulpal vs. periodontal) also affects the opiorphin level., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) signs in a group of institutionalized patients with schizophrenia. Three hundred thirty-nine patients with schizophrenia were examined and compared with 107 age-matched and gender-matched control subjects. TMD signs were evaluated according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria to assess temporomandibular joint pain to palpation, limitation of maximum mouth opening, alteration of mouth opening pathway (deviation/deflection) and temporomandibular joint noises. In addition, tooth wear was recorded for the assessment of bruxism. The prevalence of any TMD signs was observed higher (P = 0.001) in the patients with schizophrenia (284/339, 83.7%) than in the controls (72/107, 67.3%). The prevalence of more than one TMD sign was also significantly higher (P = 0.03) in the patients with schizophrenia (131/339, 38.6%) than in the controls (29/107, 27.1%). Significant differences between the two groups were apparent for joint pain on palpation (P = 0.006), deflection (P = 0.006) and joint sounds (P = 0.002). Severe tooth wear was evident in 39.2% of the patients with schizophrenia compared with 21.2% in the control group (P = 0.001). The finding of the present study showed that, compared to control population, chronically hospitalized patients with schizophrenia seem to be more prone to the development of TMD signs and severe tooth wear and bruxism.