Comparing the Psychological Stress and Health of Masticatory System in Military Pilots to Non-Pilot Officers

Pain or defect of the masticatory system decreases masticatory ability and subsequently causes poor general health and quality of life. This study was aimed to determine psychological stress level and assess its correlation with masticatory system health among military pilots and non-pilot officers and compare the outcomes between these two populations.
This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted on 86 military pilots and 86 non-pilot officers in 2014. After completion of 12-item General Health Questionnaire to determine the stress level and the questions about the masticatory system health, full examination of the teeth, muscles and temporomandibular joint was performed by one dentist for the entire study population. The collected data were analyzed by SPSS (version 16) using the Chi-square, independent t-test, Mann-Whitney U tests and Pearson correlation coefficient (P-values ≤0.05).
The number of pilots with high stress was 47 (55%) and the number of non-pilots with high stress was 56 (65%) . There was no significant difference in stress level between the two groups (p = 0.16). There were significant positive correlations between the stress level of the total study population and orofacial pain, neck muscles pain, bruxism, clenching, reduction in maximum mouth opening, and temporomandibular joint disorders. Also, a significant positive correlation was observed between dental problems on flying and stress level among the pilots.
High stress levels, especially in pilots because of the sensitivity of their job, can cause serious damages to masticatory system health, thereby reducing the efficiency of the masticatory system