Comparison of Symptoms and Treatment Outcomes in Young TMD Patients

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to assess subjective symptoms and treatment outcomes in young Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) patients and to compare them among ages.

Methods: Two hundred twelve TMD patients aged 6 to 20 years (155 females, 57 males; 15.6 ± 3.2 years) were selected. All of the patients received a comprehensive examination including the RDC/TMD and assessed by subjective symptom forms. A subjective symptom form consisted of 5 pain ratings in orofacial region and 6 activities of daily living (ADL) ratings (0-10 scale). Patients were divided into 4 groups according to their ages; group 1 (6-12 years), group 2 (13-15 years), group 3 (16-18 years) and group 4 (19-20 years). Chi-square tests and ANOVA were used for comparisons among groups.

Results: Percentages of chief complaints and diagnoses were not significantly different among four groups (p=0.253 and 0.428, respectively). A three-way ANOVA (sex x group x pain and sex x group x ADL) showed a significant main effect of group (F=9.058, p<0.001; and F=6.902, p<0.001; respectively), and a significant main effect of pain and ADL (F=36.456, p<0.001; and F=43.933, p<0.001; respectively). There was no significant difference between females and males (main effect of sex) and no other significant interactions. Treatments resulted in a statistically significant reduction in jaw/face pain, yawning, prolonged opening and eating hard foods ratings (F=20.482, p<0.001; F=9.858, p=0.002; F=5.482, p=0.021; and F=7.651, p=0.007; respectively) (main effect of treatment).

Conclusions: These results suggest that subjective symptoms of TMD in a young population are not different between sexes; however, these symptoms (i.e., pain intensity and difficulty of ADL) increase with age, and severity was significantly different among symptoms. Early-term managements or appropriate treatments given to young TMD patients resulted in improvement of their symptoms.