Comparison of the Relationship between Temporomandibular Disorder and Oral Habits or Quality of Life in Dentistry Students in Different Years of Education.

Objective: To evaluate the prevalence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) in dental faculty students in different years of education and investigate the relationship between TMD and oral habits or quality of life.

Methods: The Fonseca Anamnestic Index (FAI) questionnaire was used to determine the prevalence and severity of TMD, the Oral Behaviors Checklist (OBC) questionnaire served to determine the severity of harmful oral habits/parafunctions and the Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) questionnaire was used to evaluate the quality of life in a total of 452 dentistry students (269 women and 183 men) in different years of education.

Results: With regard to incidence of TMD, a total of 215 women had TMD (215/269, 79.9%), which was significantly higher than that in men (87/183, 47.5%) (P < 0.001). According to the OBC and OHIP-14 questionnaire results, harmful oral habits and quality of life showed a low to moderately significant correlation with TMD (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: The Fonseca, OHIP-14 and OBC questionnaires allow early and inexpensive determination of oral habits that increase the prevalence of TMD. The prevalence of TMD in dentistry students at the clinical education stage is higher than those who have not progressed to the clinical education stage.