Keywords
TMJ, prevalence, awareness, severity, Almadinah Almunawwarrah
TMJ, prevalence, awareness, severity, Almadinah Almunawwarrah
We updated the version with the incomplete information based on reviewer suggestions, which included: the study's rationale, inclusion criteria, sample size estimates, and the study's limitations.
See the authors' detailed response to the review by Shakeerah Olaide Gbadebo and Olayinka D. ADEOSUN
See the authors' detailed response to the review by Essam Ahmed Al‐Moraissi
Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) is a term used to describe a set of musculoskeletal and neuromuscular diseases characterized by localized discomfort in the pre-auricular and face regions, as well as deviations or restrictions in mandibular joint movement, in addition to joint noises.1 TMDs are multifactorial, caused by stress, trauma and malocclusion.2 Painful TMDs are of musculoskeletal origin and are considered the most common cause of non-odontogenic pain in the orofacial region.3–5 The most prevalent symptom of TMD is tenderness of the masticatory muscles when palpated.6,7
The prevalence of TMDs was twice higher in women compared to men,8 also pain intensity was greater in women.9 According to a previous report, 75% of the participants exhibited one TMD sign and 33% had one TMD symptom.10 Another study concluded that 50–75% of the population had TMD signs at some moment in their lives.11 One study showed that only 39% participants had sought treatment for pain related to TMDs.12 Patients with TMDs symptoms tend to consult first with general medical practitioners due to the availability and financial feasibility in nearly six countries. 27% of children and adolescents in Saudi Arabia were found to have TMDs.
For our patients, temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders still cause difficulty in diagnosis and conflicts between different specialties. Some individuals seek treatment from different specialized clinics such as ENT (ear, nose and throat) or neurosurgery clinics, and the rationale for the current study was that there is a rise in oral health awareness in Saudi Arabia. However examination and diagnosis of TMJ disorders continue to require emphasis and increased knowledge among dentists, therefore it is critical to focus on epidemiological data to estimate the prevalence of these conditions among our populations, particularly given the increasing in stressful environments that induce TMDs. as a result, the study’s aim was to determine the prevalence and severity of distribution of TMDs among Almadinah Almunawwarah community population and to focus on the population’s awareness towards the appropriate clinical practice of the disorders using the Fonseca questionnaire, which hasn’t been used in our population before.
This study was designed to be an observational cross-sectional study with convenience sampling technique. The Taibah University Dental College Ethical Committee approved the study protocol (TUCDREC/20200219/MIAlsousi), and all participants’ identities were kept anonymous. The study followed the Helsinki Declaration on Human Research Studies. The patients were selected from the dental college and the hospital at Taibah University in Al-Madinah, Saudi Arabia. Following an explanation of the study’s aims and objectives, patients who agreed to participate in the study signed an informed consent form.
All adult males and females who visited Taibah University’s Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clinics in Almadinah Almunawwarah, Saudi Arabia, in the previous two years were included in the study.
All patients with systemic disease associated with TMJ like rheumatoid arthritis, regular use of medication such as anti-anxiety or antidepressants, history of TMJ surgery, wearing removable denture or splints, psychological problems and/or with incomplete questionnaire form were excluded from the study.
Response bias was reduced by keeping the questions simple and short, as in the verified Fonseca questionnaire, which has structured proper length and understandable language, and by limiting the patient experience to the previous three months.
Using a sample size calculator with a confidence level of 99% and estimated the entire Madinah population to be above one million, the sample size was calculated to be 523 participants. To avoid missing or insufficient data, we extend the total to 598. Patients seeking dental treatment were recruited through the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery clinics at Taibah University, Almadinah Almunawwarah, in Saudi Arabia.
In order to estimate Fonseca’s Anamnestic Index (FAI), a translated Arabic version of Fonseca’s questionnaire was utilized. The original Fonseca’s questionnaire was proposed by Fonseca et al13 in Brazilian Portuguese. Two investigators who collect data conducted face-to-face questionnaire assessments.
The questionnaire included questions about participant’s demographic data, if the participant thought he/she is suffering from TMDs, and whom to seek for a treatment if he/she needed to. These questions were followed by 10 questions of Fonseca’s questionnaire with three points scale, and it was distributed to patients in an Arabic version. For each question, the participants were instructed that just one answer should be marked: “yes” (10 points), “no” (0 points), and “maybe” (5 points). Based on the sum of their points, the individuals were classified as TMD free (0–15), mild TMD (20–40), moderate TMD (45–60), and severe TMD (70–100). The FAI has been usually applied in Brazilian studies to measure the severity of TMDs.9,14 A copy of the original and translated questionnaire can be found in the Extended data.
The data was evaluated using a social science statistical software (SPSS version 25). Means, standard deviation, and percentages were used to show descriptive data. It was followed by Chi-square test for nominal outcomes and Student’s t-test for continuous study variables. Significance level was set at P value of 0.05.
A total of 598 participants answered the questionnaire, based on the above-mentioned exclusion criteria, 80 (13.4 %) participants were removed from the study. Thus, leveeing a total of 518 (86.6%) recruited participants, females made up 57.1% of the participants. The age group distribution of participants and the level of education are presented in Figure 1 and Figure 2, respectively.
Based on the participants’ answers on Fonseca’s questionnaire, 61% had TMDs with variable degree of severity. Male group (44.3%) was less than female group (55.7%). The difference, however, was not statistically significant (P = 0.354). On the other hand, there was a significant difference in the positive responses to the questions of whether or not the participants had TMDs (12.5 %), and the participants whom actually suffering from TMDs according to Fonseca’s questionnaire (P < 0.05). The level of TMDs in regard to gender distribution is presented in Figure 3.
Out of the 61% TMDs positive patients, 74.1% had symptoms of mild TMDs, while the moderate and severe symptoms were 20.8% and 5.1%, respectively (P < 0.05). However, the demographic data showed no effect on the severity of the symptoms (P > 0.05).
In regards whom to seek for treatment, 51.6% of the sample chose a dentist while 41.8% chose an orthopedic specialist (P > 0.05). Based on participants who suffered or suffering from TMDs, only 40% sought out treatment, 64.6% of them chose a dentist while 24.6% chose orthopaedic specialist (P ≤ 0.008).
The symptoms mostly associated with TMDs ranged from behavioral changes and quick fatigue of the mastication muscles, to frequent headache or pain related to the TMJ or the neck, reaching to TMJ stiffness and clicking or even limitation in mouth opening. Table 1 summarizes the frequencies of the most common symptoms.
The study evaluates the prevalence and awareness of TMD amongst the population of Al-Madinah to produce sufficient data on TMD, helps to find crucial part of planning programs to educate and raise awareness through the population. The study showed that TMDs were present in 61% of the population. Many studies employed the Fonseca questionnaire to diagnose and grade the severity of TMDs. TMD is divided into four categories: minor, moderate, severe, and non-TMD.15 It has a number of advantages, including quick application, low cost, minimal inconsistency, and self-administration.16 The Fonseca questionnaire was used in this study to assess the prevalence of TMD symptoms and manifestations in the Almadianh region of Saudi Arabia. It is used to gather data from a wider number of people in a short period. The most significant advantage of employing this questionnaire is that it has no bearing on the investigator and is straightforward.17
More than half of the participants had some level of TMDs, which has been associated with headache. In regard, frequent headaches were associated with 40% of the participant, patients with TMD are five times more likely to report headaches.8 The results are related to a study done in Brazil in 2018 which over two third of the adolescents had headache/migraine and 36 percent of them connected it with TMD.18
Though TMD is suggested to have a higher frequency and severity in females than in males, and females were reported to have a greater sensitivity to pain19 which has been connected to hormonal, psychological, and even neurological changes,8,9,20 no conclusive results achieved to the date. In this study TMD male patients (44.3%) were less than female patients (55.7%). However, the difference is not significant, also in a similar study done in Al-Badar Dental College mentioned that men (49.14%) had higher free of TMD symptoms than women (44.78%) but this difference was also not statistically significant.20
Although more than 70% of the TMD positive participants have mild TMD, only 51.6% of the sample knows who to see for TMD therapy, and 40% of TMD patients seek treatment. TMD treatment varies from one physician to another. It ranges from patient education and the development of new habits such as self-massage, hot and cold packs, diet and nutrition instruction, and muscle exercises, which have been shown to have a high level of success and improvement, to the need for invasive and high-technical or invasive surgical treatments.1,21,22 According to Reynaldo, 91.7% of patients responded well to conservative treatment. There was no TMD recurrence in the majority of patients who could be examined four to six years after treatment completion.23 The current study’s findings highlight the importance of public oral health education and assessment of TMDs using Fonseca questionnaire.24 The present survey collected data had limitations in terms of measuring patients’ reporting outcomes and also had limitations in evaluating specific differential diagnostic criteria in the analysis of the type of TMDs, whether myogenous or arthrogenous, and another limitation was that it was a one-center study, though it is the largest and only university centre in the Al Madinah region, and so other multicenter studies of the health clusters in our community’s population are still needed.
Based on this study, participants from Al-Madinah showed higher prevalence in mild degree of TMDs. Most of the participants were lacking the knowledge of TMDs and whom to seek for a treatment. The results from this study emphasize the need for educating programs to raise awareness through the population, and to consider Fonseca’s anamnestic index as a valuable tool for early identification and severity assessment of TMDs in the general population.
Figshare: Data for TMJ disorders prevalence and awareness of appropriate clinical practices, among Al-Madinah community in Saudi Arabia.sav https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1721594025
This project contains the following underlying data
- Data for TMJ disorders prevalence and awareness of appropriate clinical practices, among Al-Madinah community in Saudi Arabia.sav (raw data in Arabic)
Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY 4.0).
Figshare: Data for TMJ disorders prevalence and awareness of appropriate clinical practices, among Al-Madinah community in Saudi Arabia.sav. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.19086635.v226
This project contains the following underlying data
- Data for TMJ disorders prevalence and awareness of appropriate clinical practices, among Al-Madinah community in Saudi Arabia.sav (raw data in English)
Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY 4.0).
Figshare: Questionnaire. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.1929247427
This project contains the following extended data
A copy of the questionnaire (in Arabic and the English version).
Data are available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC-BY 4.0).
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Competing Interests: I don't have any financial conflict of interest. I know only Dr. Shayma S. Alsayed (via social media) for 2 years from the ResearchGate. We have been contacted intermittently (from time to time) for an independent scientific discussion before and during and after reviewing process. Our communications have never had an effect on the transparency, confidentiality, and impartiality of the reviewing process.
Reviewer Expertise: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Is the work clearly and accurately presented and does it cite the current literature?
Yes
Is the study design appropriate and is the work technically sound?
No
Are sufficient details of methods and analysis provided to allow replication by others?
No
If applicable, is the statistical analysis and its interpretation appropriate?
Partly
Are all the source data underlying the results available to ensure full reproducibility?
No
Are the conclusions drawn adequately supported by the results?
Partly
Competing Interests: I don't have any financial conflict of interest. I know only Dr. Shayma S. Alsayed (via social media) for 2 years from the ResearchGate. We have been contacted intermittently (from time to time) for an independent scientific discussion before and during and after reviewing process. Our communications have never had an effect on the transparency, confidentiality, and impartiality of the reviewing process.
Reviewer Expertise: Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
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