Correlação entre sinais e sintomas da Disfunção Temporomandibular (DTM) e severidade da má oclusão

Temporomandibular disorders: knowledge, competency, and attitudes of predoctoral dental students

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate knowledge, competency, and attitudes related to temporomandibular disorders (TMD) among predoctoral dental students, and to investigate the curricular organization of contents related to TMD and occlusion.

METHODS

Predoctoral dental students (n = 147) answered a questionnaire with topics related to TMD. Another questionnaire evaluated the organization of TMD and occlusion courses.

RESULTS

Contents related to TMD and occlusion were taught in the same course in all dental schools. The students' responses showed low agreement with the current gold standards pertaining to TMD. Most students declared that they did not feel confident to treat patients with TMD (62.6%), were not satisfied with the content pertaining to TMD (55.8%), and considered a lack of clinical practice to be the primary limitation in their training (59.2%).

DISCUSSION

Students' knowledge of basic concepts related to TMD was limited, highlighting the need for readjustment of the dental curriculum to increase clinical experience.

Prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in college preparatory students: associations with emotional factors, parafunctional habits, and impact on quality of life

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) signs and symptoms, its correlation with gender, parafunctional habits, emotional stress, anxiety, and depression and its impact on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQL) in college preparatory students at public and private institutions in João Pessoa, Paraíba (PB). The sample consisted of 303 students. Presence of TMD symptoms was determined by an anamnesis questionnaire containing questions related to the presence of parafunctional habits and emotional stress. A simplified clinical evaluation protocol was used. Anxiety and depression were determined with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale and the OHRQL using the short version contained in the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14). The Chi-square, Fisher Exact, Mann Whitney, and Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed. Presence of signs and symptoms of TMD was statistically associated (p ≤ 0,05) with female gender, parafunctional habits, emotional stress, and anxiety, and represented greater impairment of the OHRQL. The physical pain domain was the most affected. The increased prevalence of signs and symptoms of TMD among college preparatory students indicates that there is a need for education and clarification among teachers and students to improve early diagnosis and to prevent the problem.