SURVEY ON PREVALENCE OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR JOINT DYSFUNCTION AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH NECK PAIN AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Abstract

Introduction: Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) dysfunction is second most frequent cause of orofacial pain after dental pain. TMJ dysfunction and disorders of cervical region greatly affect the routine activities and lifestyle and lower the person’s ability to interact socially and work independently. The objective of current study was to determine the prevalence of TMJ dysfunction and its association with neck pain among university students.

Material & Methods: Participants from different universities in Faisalabad were selected using convenient sampling. Out of 1513 students, 1338 who met inclusion criteria were included in this study. The participants were asked to respond to a self-structured questionnaire that contained the Fonseca's Anamnestic Index (FAI) and Neck Disability Index (NDI). SPSS version 21 was used for data analysis.

Results: A total of 58% of the subjects were having mild to moderate level of temporomandibular dysfunction while 41% of the student’s reported absence of neck pain. Study revealed that the headache was most common problem (61.5%) among university students and least common problem (16.5%) was moving jaw to the sides. Moderate and severe TMJ dysfunction were associated with severe and complete levels of NDI with p<0.001.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that most of the students had mild to moderate TMJ dysfunction, and there was a significant association between TMJ dysfunction and neck pain.