Use of the Fonseca’s questionnaire to assess the prevalence and severity of temporomandibular disorders in Dental School of MNUMS undergraduates

Abstract

Background: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is a pathological change manifested by pain and dysfunction of the jaw joint and masticatory muscles. The multifactorial TMD etiology is related to emotional tension, occlusal interferences, early tooth loss, masticatory muscular dysfunction, internal and external changes in TMJ structure and the associations between these factors. Fonseca anamnestic index is a questionnaire that has been used to classify individuals according to temporomandibular disorders severity (mild, moderate, severe and no TMD), and also to screen patients for further developments in diagnosing TMD. Aim: The study aimed to assess the prevalence and severity of temporomandibular disorders among students from Dental School of Mongolian National University of Medical Science (MNUMS) using the Fonseca anamnestic index. Materials and Methods: We conducted this research using cross-sectional study, involving 319 students of Dental School of MNUMS, Ulaanbaatar. “Fonseca Anamnestic Index” was used in the study. The results were processed using SPSS 25.0 software. Pearson’s chi-square test with a 5% level of confidence were used for the statistical analysis. Results: Out of a total of 319 students included in the study, 260 (81.5%) had temporomandibular disorders and 59 (18.5%) had no-temporomandibular disorders. 137 (42.9%) of the study participants had mild TMD, which was significantly higher than the group with severe, moderate or no TMD (p=0.0001). 260 (81.5%) of the study participants had temporomandibular disorders: 137 (42.9%) had mild, 93 (29.2%) had moderate, and 30 (9.4%) had severe disorders. Conclusions: 1. It has been discovored that undergraduates of Dental School of MNUMS have an increased (81.5%) prevalence of temporomandibular disorders. 2. Among students of Dental School of MNUMS, 42.9% of temporomandibular disorders were mild, 29.2% were moderate, and 9.4% were severe. 3. There was no statistically significant difference between students who received orthodontic treatment and those who did not regardless of the severity of temporomandibular disorders.