Relationship Between Temporomandibular Disorders and Anxiety in Elementary Education Schoolchildren

Purpose: To investigate the temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and the different levels of anxiety in children. Method: An epidemiological survey was performed in elementary education schoolchildren from private schools of the city of Jaboticabal, SP, Brazil. A total of 304 students were enrolled in the study, being 83 from the 4th grade, 117 from the 6th grade and 104 from the 8th grade (Ethics in Research Committee: 200501873). The study population comprised children of both sexes aged 9 to 15 years. The participants were evaluated by means of three self-applicable questionnaires, one of them being used to quantify the degree of TMD (Fonseca's index) and, other two being used to determine the level of anxiety (IDATE): anxiety-status ("How I am feeling") and anxiety-trace ("How I usually feel"). The anxiety-status questionnaire indicates how the child feels in a certain moment. The anxiety-trace questionnaire determines how the child usually feels during his/her life. Results: The gathered data were tabulated and allowed reaching the following mean scores regarding the Fonseca's index, anxiety-status and anxiety-trace: 25.61 (13.25); 31.35 (5.03) and 38.61 (5.29), respectively. Conclusions: Great part of the elementary education schoolchildren presented signs and symptoms of TMD and were very anxious. In addition, data analysis showed a positive correlation between TMD and anxiety (p<0.01), mainly when comparing the anxiety-trace, which is the one related to the individual's personality.