Incidence of temporomandibular disorders at tooth loss in the supporting zones.

Although the literature reports that occlusal disorders can be associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), their direct scientific correlation is still mainly unproved. The aim of this study was to establish the incidence of symptoms and signs of TMD and tissue-specific diagnoses in a population of subjects with tooth loss in the supporting zones. The study was conducted on 196 partially edentulous subjects (Eichner's class II and III) at the average age of 51.2. Manual functional analysis was used as a diagnostic procedure. Chi-square test for independent samples was used for establishing the significance of the differences between the variables. In the total sample, 16.3% of the subjects had symptoms and signs of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), while in 46.9% of the subjects a tissue-specific diagnosis of TMD was found. The most frequent tissue-specific diagnoses were osteoarthrosis and total or partial anterolateral disc displacement. A statistically significant difference between Eichner's class II and III was found for the tissue-specific diagnoses of myofascitis of the lateral pterygoid muscle, partial anterolateral disc displacement and capsulitis. The results of this study suggest that the incidence and intensity of TMD are higher in subjects with greater tooth loss in the supporting zones, regardless of their sex.