Occlusion and Back Pain: Reality and Prejudice

It has often been suggested that patients with a temporomandibular disorder more often suffer from a cervical spine disorder and/or back pain and the aim of the paper is to review the international literature on the relationship between dental occlusion, body posture, and temporomandibular disorders related to back pain. The three main research field found in literature are: the functional anatomy and physiology of the dental occlusionbody posture relationship and their relationship with temporomandibular disorders, the validity of the instrumental devices to measure the dental occlusion-body posture and the correlation between the orofacial area and the cervical spine in the biopsychosocial approach for chronic pain. Literature showed that even if some associations have been found between occlusal factors and postural alterations, there is not enough scientific evidence to support a cause effect relation and also in the Evidence Based Medicine analysis, there is no evidence that support the relationship between occlusal features and the presence of back pain.