Incidence and prevalence of temporomandibular joint pain and dysfunction. A one-year prospective study of university students.
OBJECTIVE
The aims of this study were to investigate the incidence and recovery of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain and dysfunction during a 1-year period, and to examine factors associated with TMJ signs and symptoms.


METHODS
The study population comprised 371 dental students examined at the start of education, out of which 308 were re-examined after 1 year. Case histories were collected with the aid of a questionnaire. The clinical examination involved TMJ mobility, TMJ pain, TMJ sounds, morphological and functional dental occlusion.


RESULTS
The 1-year incidence of TMJ signs and/or symptoms was 12%, with no statistically significant difference between men and women. Reported TMJ sounds (10%) and clinically registered TMJ pain (8%) reached the highest incidence rates. Approximately a quarter of those who had TMJ signs and/or symptoms at baseline had recovered at follow-up. Subjects with a non-symptomatic TMJ were significantly more often found among men and among those with bilateral contacts in centric relation, a normal transverse inter-maxillary relationship, and a stabile mandibular position in centric occlusion.


CONCLUSIONS
The 1-year incidence of TMJ pain and/or dysfunction was high among 1st-year university students. The persistence of signs and symptoms during the observation period was related to gender, while incidence and disappearance of symptoms were not. Dental occlusion was not rejected as a possible concurrent factor in relation to TMJ pain and/or dysfunction among university students.
Marklund
Susanna
S
Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. susanna.marlkund@odont.umu.se
Wänman
Anders
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007593:Joint Instability / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular; D012737:Sex Factors; D013335:Students, Dental; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology