The prevalence of clinical diagnostic groups in patients with temporomandibular disorders

Cranio. 2009 Jul;27(3):194-9. doi: 10.1179/crn.2009.029.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to observe the prevalence of diagnostic groups of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in patients who were referred or sought treatment for TMD and/or orofacial pain in a private clinic. The clinical records of 357 patients were evaluated and selected based on inclusion/exclusion criteria; the mean age was 32 years. A clinical examination was performed and the diagnosis was based on the American Academy of Orofacial Pain criteria. Results showed that 86.8% of patients were women and 93.3% of the patients presented more than one diagnosis. The most frequent chief complaint (n = 216, chi2 = 30.68, p = 0.001) and total diagnosis realized (n = 748, chi2 = 14.14, p = 0.001) were muscle related. We concluded that women seek treatment for dysfunction/disorders of orofacial structures more than men do; patients seeking specialized treatment have more than one diagnosis and muscle dysfunction is more prevalent than intra-articular disorders.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Brazil / epidemiology
  • Child
  • Comorbidity
  • Diagnosis, Oral / standards
  • Diagnosis, Oral / statistics & numerical data*
  • Diagnosis-Related Groups / statistics & numerical data*
  • Facial Pain / classification
  • Facial Pain / epidemiology*
  • Female
  • Headache Disorders / classification
  • Headache Disorders / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Neuromuscular Diseases / classification
  • Neuromuscular Diseases / epidemiology*
  • Sex Distribution
  • Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / classification*
  • Temporomandibular Joint Disorders / epidemiology
  • Young Adult