Abstract

Irene Aurora Espinosa de Santillana1 *, Maricruz Adauta García2 , Verónica Anuette Mayoral García2 and Teresita Romero Ogawa3

Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD) are conditions characterized by pain or dysfunction of the Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) and masticatory muscles. Females have been identified as the group most at risk of developing this pathology and the data indicate that females more frequently present grave symptoms, with greater tendencies to chronicity. The objective of this study is to determine the severity of TMD by gender in a group of outpatients of the clinic at the Faculty of Dentistry of Puebla. Observational study design, with 75 patients included (65% female). The severity of TMD, was evaluated with the Temporomandibular index (TMI) with three domains (function, articular, muscular), using the standardization of the researcher (kappa=0.96). Percentages and the mean of percentages of severity of TMD were calculated. The outcomes of TMI were compared by gender. Total of severity index between gender shows that the means of the three sub-indices and the total index were higher in women, but only the muscle index showed significant differences (p=0.022). The total of severity Index showed marginal differences between the gender (p=0.074). The women reported more grave signs and symptoms of TMD, specifically in the perception of pain.