Origin and Prevalence of Temporomandibular Disorders in patients from the Periodontics Clinic of the UNASA School of Dentistry

Abstract

During the Periodontics clinic rotations a specific research instrument was applied for the diagnosis of these disorders, for which the following research objectives were formulated as: a) classify the origin of temporomandibular disorders in patients who attend the UNASA Periodontics clinic and b) estimate the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in patients who attend the Periodontics clinic during the clinical shift rotation. For data collection, two instruments were used, both adapted from the physical-somatic dimention Axis I, DC/TMD (Diagnostic criteria for temporomandibular disorders). The first instrument is focused on anamnesis and is based on the TMD Pain Screener. The second is based on the Clinical Examination Form ‘North American and FDI’. It is important to note that these CD/TMD adapted instruments do not require special permissions for implementation. Data analysis was conducted using a quantitative approach, revealing that 81.7% of the study population suffers from some type of temporomandibular disorder, with disc displacement with reduction being the most prevalent at 55%. Therefore, it can be concluded that in order of prevalence, identified temporomandibular disorders according to their origin are primarily joint-related, followed by muscular origin. It is noteworthy that no significant difference was found between males or females.