Temporomandibular Disorder and Oral Health-Related Quality of Life in Brazilian Adults: A Population-Based Survey

OBJECTIVE- Evaluate the association between TMD symptoms and physical and psychosocial oral health impact among adults of a small Brazilian municipality. METHODS- A population-based epidemiological study with a probabilistic sample of adults (30-49 years) was carried out. Data was collected in the participant’s residence using a structured questionnaire, and a clinical examination was conducted by calibrated examiners (Kappa >0.7). The presence of TMD symptoms was evaluated using the Fonseca’s Anamnesis Questionnaire (1994). Physical and psychosocial impact was considered if at least one oral functions item was reported as being experienced fairly often or very often, assessed by the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-14), an instrument of Oral Health Related Quality of Life (OHRQoL). The association between TMD symptoms and presence of impact was adjusted for oral health condition, sociodemographic and socioeconomic profiles, and health behaviors. Associations were investigated using the crude and multivariate Poisson regression. RESULTS- Of the 197 participants, 114 (59.30%) had physical and psychosocial impact of oral health and 135 (68.19%) had at least one TMD symptom. After adjusting for covariates, individuals who reported TMD symptoms had a 1.75 times higher prevalence of impact (95%CI 1.18 - 2.57) than those who did not report symptoms, with psychological discomfort (60.46%), physical pain (40.19%), and psychological disability (35.71%) being the most affected dimensions (p <0.01). CONCLUSION- TMD is a common condition and the presence of symptoms is associated with impact in different dimensions of OHRQoL. These results demonstrate the importance of early identification of TMD symptoms to reduce the impact on OHRQoL.