Association Between Number of Temporomandibular Disorders Symptoms and Oral Health Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study in a Community-Based Population

Background

There are limited studies on the number of Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) symptoms affecting oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in large community populations. Furthermore, there is a lack of comparative studies between different TMD subtypes.

Objective

The aim was to explore the relationship between OHRQoL and the number of TMD symptoms in a community-based population.

Methods

Participants were recruited through convenience sampling in different communities. Data collected included demographic characteristics, oral health impact profile (OHIP-5), and TMD symptoms profile (5 T-TMD). The data were analysed by means of the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test, the Kruskal–Wallis test, Mann–Whitney U test, and linear regression analysis. Furthermore, visual correlation images of TMD symptom numbers and OHIP-5 scores were plotted, and burst point analyses were conducted.

Results

A total of 1327 valid questionnaires were collected. The mean OHIP-5 scores for participants with either subtype of TMD were found to be significantly lower than those for participants without TMD symptoms (p < 0.05). The TMD subtypes with the most and least significant regression coefficients on OHRQoL were TMD Pain Symptoms and Dysfunction (PD, 6.75) and the presence of temporomandibular joint sounds (TS, 3.38). The more TMD symptoms, the higher the OHIP-5 score. The regression coefficient of TMD on OHRQoL exhibited a statistically significant increase when the number of typical TMD symptoms exceeded three (p < 0.05).

Conclusion

The impact on OHRQoL was most pronounced when temporomandibular joint sounds were present in conjunction with pain or dysfunction. Clinicians should carefully assess their patients experiencing over three typical TMD symptoms.