Craniomandibular disorders in psoriasis.

A questionnaire survey of all members of the Psoriasis Society of the Greater Helsinki area was carried out to determine the prevalence of craniomandibular (CM) disorders in psoriasis. 1517 (85%) of the psoriatic members responded; 1050 had skin symptoms (psoriasis; P) and 400 skin and joint symptoms (psoriatic arthritis; PA). The most characteristic CM symptom was pain in the temporomandibular joint area. A high number of subjective symptoms correlated with poor general state of health, stress, pruritus of skin lesions, occlusal parafunctions and impaired chewing ability. Patients with PA had symptoms of CM disorders twice as frequently as patients with P. A high number of symptoms of CM disorders correlated with the number of other joints affected by PA.