title: Prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in children and adolescents with and without crossbites.
abstract: This study investigated the prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in 1,134 orthodontically untreated children and adolescents (593 boys, 541 girls; age range 5 to 15 years) with and without crossbites. The sample with crossbites was further grouped according to the type (anterior, posterior, unilateral, or bilateral). The TMD symptoms bruxism (obvious active attrition/myalgia), joint sounds (clicking/crepitation), deviation during opening, reduced functional movements (maximum opening <40 mm), and myopain (originating in the masticatory muscles/related to masticatory functions) were evaluated based on the standardized RDC/TMD protocol (Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders) and compared among the various groups. Girls had a significantly higher prevalence of myopain than boys (x(2)=3.882, P<.05). Furthermore, individuals with posterior unilateral crossbites showed a significantly higher prevalence of TMD symptoms (x(2)=33.877, P<.001) and reduced functional movements (x2 = 10.800, P<.05) than any other group. In conclusion, sex and type of crossbite play a role in the prevalence of TMD signs and symptoms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Science, University G.D'Annunzio, Chieti/Pescara, Italy. simtecc@unich.it
authors.forename: Simona
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tecco
authors.forename: Felice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Festa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002012:Bruxism / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005157:Facial Pain / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology; D012737:Sex Factors; D013705:Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013706:Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome / Q000453:epidemiology; D019217:Tooth Attrition / Q000453:epidemiology