Signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders and oral parafunctions in urban Saudi arabian adolescents: a research report

A total of 385 (230 females and 155 males) school children age 12–16, completed a questionnaire and were examined clinically. A stratified selection technique was used for schools allocation.The results showed that 21.3% of the subjects exhibited at least one sign of TMD and females were generally more affected than males. Joint sounds were the most prevalent sign (13.5%) followed by restricted opening (4.7%) and opening deviation (3.9%). The amplitude of mouth opening, overbite taken into consideration, was 46.5 mm and 50.2 mm in females and males respectively. TMJ pain and muscle tenderness were rare (0.5%). Reported symptoms were 33%, headache being the most frequent symptom 22%, followed by pain during chewing 14% and hearing TMJ noises 8.7%. Difficulty during jaw opening and jaw locking were rare. Lip/cheek biting was the most common parafunction habit (41%) with females significantly more than males, followed by nail biting (29%). Bruxism and thumb sucking were only 7.4% and 7.8% respectively.The prevalence of TMD signs were 21.3% with joint sounds being the most prevalent sign. While TMD symptoms were found to be 33% as, with headache being the most prevalent. Among the oral parafunctions, lip/cheek biting was the most prevalent 41% followed by nail biting 29%.Temporomandibular disorders have been recognized as a common orofacial pain condition. The American Dental Association in 1983 has suggested that the term Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) refers to a group of disorders characterized by: pain in the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), the periauricular area, or the muscles of mastication; TMJ noises (sounds) during mandibular function; and deviations or restriction in mandibular range of motion [1].A number of epidemiological studies on the prevalence of TMD in children and adolescents have been published from different populations, where the prevalence of TMD varied from 9.8 to 80 percent (table 1). The lack of international standards, different kinds and q