Determining the importance of risk factors for the occurrence of temporomandibular disorders in the population and among exposed individuals

There are many case-control (Ca-Co) studies in the literature on the importance of risk factors for the occurrence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). These studies typically report the adjusted odds ratio (OR) for each risk factor being studied. This paper presents other epidemiological measurements for evaluating the importance of risk factors for the occurrence of TMD. These measurements include the population attributable risk percent (PAR%) and the attributable risk percent (AR%). The AR% for parafunctional habits, facial trauma, and orthopedic instability were estimated to be 86%, 80%, and 60%, respectively, while the corresponding PAR% were estimated to be 60%, 38%, and 7%. PAR% underestimates the importance of a risk factor for the occurrence of TMD among individuals exposed to the risk factor. The attributable risk percent (AR%) is an appropriate epidemiological measurement to evaluate the importance of a risk factor for TMD among individuals exposed to the risk factor.