Abstract:

Purpose: The aim of this study is to assess the risk of developing Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TME) in university students and to study the relationship of risk levels with quality of life, neck disability and psychological condition. Tools and Methods: 197 volunteer students at the Faculty of Health Sciences were evaluated according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The assessment of the risk of dysfunction development was assessed by the presence of symptoms associated with TME, psychological condition Beck Depression scale, quality of life SF-36 and pain-based disability condition Northwick Park Back Pain Survey. Statistical analysis was used by One-way Anova and Spearman Correlation Analysis. The findings: 197 university students (medium age: 20,79±2,13 years) were taken to study. 81.7% of students found that they had a symptom of TME disorder. It was found that there was a significant difference between the level of disability associated with neck pain, psychological condition, and quality of life (p<0,01 for all values) according to the TME disfunction risk level. Our study identified the negative relationship between the number of symptoms of students and the severity of disability associated with neck pain (r=0,397, p<0,0001) and the positive (r=0,279, p<0,0001), SF-36 physical (r=-0,328, p<0,0001) and the mental components (r=-0,305, p<0,0001). The result: Our study shows that more than 80% of health scientists generally show some symptoms of TME dysfunction. This increase in the risk of joint-related problems can be associated with the biomechanical impact of the joint’s neighbouring body segments, which can be linked to a close relationship of disability, quality of life and disorder in the psychological state.

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