FREQUENCY AND SEVERITY OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS AMONGST DENTAL STUDENTS OF KHYBER COLLEGE OF DENTISTRY

Abstract

 Temporomandibular joint disorders are a diverse group of diseases that affect the TMJ joint and are equally prevalent among patients as well as the non-patient population. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence and severity of temporomandibular disorders amongst dental undergraduate students of Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar. This cross sectional analytical study was carried out amongst first, second, third and final year BDS students using the Fonseca Questionnaire. Mean ± SD was calculated for score obtained. Frequencies were calculated for categorical variables such as gender, year of study and grade of the temporomandibular disorders. Stratification of grade of tem­poromandibular disorders was done with regards to gender and year of study using the Pearson chi square test to check for level of significance (p-value <0.05). A total of 300 proformas were given, out of which 201 were returned. A male to female ratio of 1:1.79 was seen. 60.7% of the sample reported no TMD’s, mild TMD’s were seen in 31.3% and only 2% were classified as having severe TMD’s. More males presented with mild and moderate TMD’s and the prevalence of TMD’s increased with the ad­vancing year of study (p-value < 0.05). It is concluded that majority of the dental students (60.7%) did not suffer from TMD’s. More male students suffered from mild to moderate TMD’s, whereas females suffered exclusively from severe TMD’s. There was an increased prevalence of TMD’s as students progressed from first to final year BDS.