A two-year follow-up study of temporomandibular disorders in a female Sami population: validation of cases and controls as predicted by questionnaire.
OBJECTIVE
The first aim of this study was to validate persistent, severe symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) among Sami females, as predicted by questionnaire. The second aim was to establish diagnoses according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) Axis 1 among predicted cases and controls. The third aim was to compare subjects with severe TMD to controls in regard to dental occlusion, general health, and parafunctions.


METHODS
The subjects, Sami females living in the Arctic region of northern Sweden, all with long-standing (>or=1 year), intense (>or=5 on NS), and frequent (>or=once a week) symptoms of pain and dysfunction in the jaw-face region, were invited for clinical examination; 22 (63%) agreed to participate. Forty-six subjects with no symptoms in the jaw-face region were matched to these cases in accordance with five age groups. The examiner was blind to subject affiliation.


RESULTS
The positive predictive value of presenting with signs and symptoms of TMD at follow-up was 0.82; the negative value was 0.87. Cases reported impaired general health and awareness of parafunctions significantly more frequently than did controls. Registered dental occlusion factors did not distinguish cases from controls.


CONCLUSIONS
Long-standing, intense, and frequent TMD symptoms remained essentially unchanged over the 2-year follow-up of females in a Sami population. Presence of severe TMD was related to impaired general health and awareness of oral parafunctions.
Storm
Christina
C
Department of Odontology, Clinical Oral Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Wänman
Anders
A
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001110:Arctic Regions; D002012:Bruxism / Q000150:complications; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003766:Dental Occlusion; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*