Orofacial Pain: Prospective Evaluation and Risk Assessment (OPPERA). Prospective cohort study of first-onset temporomandibular disorder.

The OPPERA project investigates effects of genetic, physiological, psychological and clinical factors on risk of developing painful temporomandibular disorder. The prospective cohort study evaluated factors at enrollment that predicted subsequent risk of developing first-onset temporomandibular disorder (TMD). Between May 2006 and November 2008, 3,263 study participants with no significant history of TMD were enrolled at four U.S. study sites. They were followed for a median period of 2.8 years, during which time 260 of them developed examiner-verified, first-onset TMD.

• Study Weblinks:
  • OPPERA Dataverse
  • OPPERA2
• Study Design:
  • Prospective Longitudinal Cohort
• Study Type:
  • Prospective
  • Cohort
  • Longitudinal
• Total number of consented subjects: 3258
• Subject Sample Telemetry Report (SSTR)

• BioProject
• PubMed
• BioSample
• PMC

Inclusion criteria were all eight of:

1. Age 18-44 years
2. Planning on living in the area for the next two years
3. Fluent in written and spoken English
4. Reported having never been diagnosed with TMD
5. Reporting no significant history of orofacial pain (that is, no orofacial pain in the month before enrollment and, prior to that period, no more than four days of orofacial pain per month)
6. Reported < 5 headaches/month in the three months before enrollment
7. No reported use of a night guard or occlusal splin
8. Examiner-verified absence of clincal TMD at enrollment

Exclusion criteria were any one of 13 conditions:

1. Traumatic facial injury or surgery on the face or jaw within the six months preceding enrollment
2. Currently receiving orthodontic treatment
3. Pregnant or nursing
4. Kidney failure or renal dialysis
5. Heart disease or heart failure
6. Chronic respiratory disease that is not controlled with medication
7. Hypertension that is not controlled with medication
8. Epilepsy or medication to control grand mal seizures
9. Hyperthyroidism
10. Diabetes that is not controlled with medication or diet
11. Drug or alcohol abuse
12. Psychiatric disorders or conditions that have required hospitalization
13. Chemotherapy or radiation therapy

The OPPERA project began in 2006 with enrollment of participants into two studies at four U.S. study sites: Baltimore, MD; Buffalo, NY; Chapel Hill, NC; and Gainesville, FL. In 2012, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) awarded funding to support the study for an additional five year period.

• Primary Phenotype: Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
• Chronic Pain

• Co-Program Directors
  • William Maixner, DDS, PhD. Center for Pain Research and Innovation, Department of Endodontics, Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
  • Gary D. Slade, PhD. Center for Pain Research and Innovation, Department of Dental Ecology, Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
• Principal Investigators
  • Roger B. Fillingim, PhD. Department of Community Dentistry and Behavioral Science, University of Florida, College of Dentistry, Gainesville, FL, USA.
  • Richard Ohrbach, DDS, PhD. Department of Oral Diagnostic Sciences, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA.
  • Joel D. Greenspan, PhD. Department of Neural and Pain Sciences and Brotman Facial Pain Center, University of Maryland Dental School, Baltimore, MD, USA.
• Principal Investigator, Data Coordinating Center Director
  • Christopher Lyu, MPA, CIP. Battelle Memorial Institute, Durham, NC, USA.
• Neurogenomics Core Co-Directors
  • Luda Diatchenko, MD, PhD. Alan Edwards Centre for Research on Pain, McGill University, Montreal, Canada.
  • Bruce S. Weir, PhD. Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
• Co-Investigators
  • Shad B. Smith, PhD. Center for Pain Research and Innovation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
  • Eric Bair, PhD. Center for Pain Research and Innovation, Department of Biostatistics, Department of Endodontics, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
  • Ronald Dubner, DDS, PhD. Department of Neural and Pain Sciences and Brotman Facial Pain Center, University of Maryland Dental School, Baltimore, MD, USA.
• Funding Source
  • U01DE017018. National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, USA.