Use of Fonseca’s Questionnaire to assess the prevalence and severity of Temporomandibular disorders among university students - a cross sectional study

Abstract

Aim: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) are one of the main causes of non-dental orofacial pain. It has been reported that TMD occurred more frequently among individuals in stressful situations and that university students are more likely to have a high risk of anxiety related disorders. This study aims to assess the prevalence and severity of TMD in undiagnosed population consisting of students of different faculties in a university campus in Bengaluru using the Fonseca’s questionnaire.Material and Methods: Descriptive cross-sectional study conducted at a University Campus, Bengaluru. Completed forms of Fonseca’s questionnaire were collected from the sample consisted of 300 students. The questionnaire had two main parts. First part collected demographic information and past relevant histories. Second part had Fonseca’s 10 questions. The TMD severity was categorized as no TMD (0-15), mild TMD (20-40), moderate TMD (45-65) and severe TMD (70-100).Results:  33.3% on the sample showed varying signs of TMD. There was no statistically significant differences found between the TMD and non TMD groups with respect to age and sex. But when comparing varying grades of TMD there was a statistically highly significant difference seen in relation to age of the subjects.Conclusions:A high prevalence of TMD was found in the university students with majority of the cases having milder signs of TMD.