The Association between COVID-19 Related Anxiety, Stress, Depression, Temporomandibular Disorders, and Headaches from Childhood to Adulthood: A Systematic Review

Objective: The coronavirus belongs to the family of Coronaviridae, which are not branched single-stranded RNA viruses. COVID-19 creates respiratory problems and infections ranging from mild to severe. The virus features mechanisms that serve to delay the cellular immune response. The host’s response is responsible for the pathological process that leads to tissue destruction. Temporomandibular disorders are manifested by painful jaw musculature and jaw joint areas, clicks, or creaks when opening or closing the mouth. All these symptoms can be disabling and occur during chewing and when the patient yawns or even speaks. The pandemic situation has exacerbated anxieties and amplified the vulnerability of individuals. Therefore, from this mechanism, how the COVID-19 pandemic may have increased the incidence of temporomandibular disorders is perceived. The purpose of this review is to evaluate whether COVID-19-related anxiety has caused an increase in temporomandibular dysfunction symptoms in adults to children. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science, Lilacs, and Scopus were systematically searched, until 30 July 2022, to identify studies presenting: the connection between COVID-19 with temporomandibular disorders. Results: From 198 papers, 4 studies were included. Literature studies have shown that the state of uncertainty and anxiety has led to an increase in the incidence of this type of disorder, although not all studies agree. Seventy-three studies were identified after viewing all four search engines; at the end of the screening phase, only four were considered that met the PECO, the planned inclusion, and the exclusion criteria. All studies showed a statistically significant correlation between temporomandibular disorders and COVID-19 with a p < 0.05. Conclusions: All studies agreed that there is an association between COVID-19 and increased incidence of temporomandibular disorders.