Temporomandibular disorders in prospective orthodontic patients: Their association with malocclusion severity and impact on oral health-related quality of life

Objectives: To determine the prevalence and severity of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) in prospective orthodontic patients. The association between TMDs and malocclusion severity as well as the impact of TMDs on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) were also examined. Materials and Methods: A total of 350 consecutive patients seeking orthodontic treatment were invited to participate in the study. The presence of TMDs was established with the Fonseca Anamnestic Index (FAI), while malocclusion severity and OHRQoL were evaluated using the Peer Assessment Rating (PAR) index and Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14), respectively. Data were analyzed using chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, and Mann-Whitney U tests and Spearman's correlation (P<.05). Results: Of the 350 patients, 164 consented to participation. Data from 26 participants were excluded because of incomplete entries, and that from 138 subjects (mean age 21.02 +/- 5.45 years) were examined. TMD-related symptoms were present in two-thirds of the subjects, with 20.3% experiencing moderate/severe TMDs. While no significant difference in PAR scores were observed between the group with no TMDs and those with TMDs, subjects with TMDs had significantly higher OHIP-14 summary/domain scores than those without TMDs. Although a moderately strong correlation was observed between the FAI and summary OHIP-14 scores (r(s) = 0.57), no association was observed between FAI and PAR index scores. Conclusions: The prevalence of TMD-related symptoms in prospective orthodontic patients was high, emphasizing the importance of screening the masticatory system before initiating orthodontic therapy. Although the presence of TMDs was not associated with malocclusion severity, it had a significant negative impact on OHRQoL.