Clinical profile of Brazilian patients with temporomandibular joint disorder and orofacial pain: A 20-year retrospective study

Objective

Temporomandibular joint disorder (TMD) comprises several musculoskeletal conditions in the orofacial region, with chronic pain and/or dysfunction involving the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and masticatory muscles. This study assessed the clinical characteristics of patients with TMD treated at a public tertiary care facility in Brazil.

Methods

In this retrospective study, we assessed data from adult patients attending the Center for Occlusion, TMD, and Orofacial Pain at a Brazilian school of dentistry, from 2000 to 2020. Data from eligible charts were collected: demographic variables, clinical complaints, location of pain, pain intensity (10-point VAS), duration of treatment, and therapeutic procedures. Data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics at the 0.05 significance level.

Results

The sample consisted of 2324 patients (79.4 % females) with a median age of 38 years and median duration of treatment of 35 days. Major clinical complaints were craniofacial pain (including in the TMJ region) (82.9 %), self-reported bruxism (clenching/grinding) (44.6 %), and clicking/crepitation (39.1 %). Craniofacial pain was associated with female gender and age of 39 years and older, but not with bruxism. The most frequent procedures were counseling (96.5 %), exercises (47.5 %), occlusal splints (18.5 %), and physiotherapy (13.8 %). Reduction in pain intensity was moderately associated with multiple (3 or more) therapies and longer duration of treatment.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the patients presented a diversity of clinical characteristics requiring individualized treatment. A multimodal, interdisciplinary therapeutic approach, including counseling, appears to benefit most patients with TMD-related pain.