ORIGINAL ARTICLES   

Minerva Stomatologica 2001 January-February;50(1-2):9-14

Copyright © 2000 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

Epidemiologic study of patients with temporomandibular disorders. Report of data and clinical findings

Vollaro S., Michelotti A., Cimino R., Farella M., Martina R.

Background. The purpose of this retrospective study was to identify the subjective and objective characteristics of a population referred to a clinic for diagnosis and treatment of orofacial pain and/or temporomandibular disorders.
Methods. Beginning in 1993, 825 patients, consecutively referred to the University of Naples ''Federico II'', were examined and their records entered into a database. These data were collected by trained clinicians. Diagnostic subgroups were identified following the Research Diagnostic Criteria for temporomandibular disorders (RDC).
Results. Seventy-nine percent of patients were female, the mean age of the sample was 31.3±13 years (range: 5 to 74 years), most of patients were between 15 and 39 years of age. Based on diagnostic subgroups, patients were divided into: patients affected with myogenous pain (59%), arthrogenous pain (13%), arthrogenous and myogenous pain (16%) and fibromyalgia (4%). Sixty-three percent of the sample reported recent headaches, 53% reported parafunction, and 28% reported a previous trauma. Eighty-one percent reported spontaneous pain, which was chronic in 83% of them. The majority of patients (78%) presented a relatively high cultural background.
Conclusions. These data appear to agree with other epidemiologic studies and depict the TMD treatment-seeking population as a predominantly female population during child-bearing years with multiple chronic pain complaints.