Prevalence of signs, symptoms and associated factors in patients with temporomandibular dysfunction - DOI: 10.4025/actascihealthsci.v31i2.5920

Abstract

This cross-sectional study evaluated the prevalence of signs, symptoms and associated factors in patients with temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD). The sample was composed of 40 patients aged 20 to 40 years. Data were collected using a form and were organized using Epi Info software. The existence of association among the variables was verified by Fisher’s Exact test (p < 0.05). The main complaints reported by patients were pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) (45%) and muscular pain (12.5%). The most frequent signs and symptoms were TMJ noises (95%), TMJ pain (82.5%) and headache (77.5%). There was an association between the presence of myalgia and the occurrence of mouth opening limitation (p < 0.01) and between the presence of myalgia and the occurrence of mandibular deviation. All patients reported masticatory problems, among which were mentioned: unilateral mastication (77.5%), difficulty in chewing hard foods (70%), tiredness in mastication (55%), pain (47.5%) and mandibular locking (37.5%). There was a statistically significant association between unilateral mastication and mandibular deviation (p < 0.01) and between difficulty in chewing hard foods and mandibular deviation (p < 0.01). Parafunctional habits were present in 75% of patients, the most frequent being tooth clenching/grinding (55.5%) and lip/cheek sucking (35.5%). In conclusion, TMD patients present a high prevalence of signs and symptoms that are capable of directly affecting their quality of life, such as pain, mouth opening limitation and masticatory difficulties.