Incidence and temporal patterns of temporomandibular disorder pain among Swedish adolescents.

AIMS

To estimate the incidence of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) pain among Swedish adolescents by age and gender and to describe the temporal patterns of TMD pain.

METHODS

This 3-year longitudinal study was carried out at all Public Dental Service clinics in a Swedish county from 2000 to 2003. All individuals aged 12 to 19 years in the county who visited the clinics for annual examinations were eligible for the study.

RESULTS

Overall, the incidence of TMD pain among all adolescents was 2.9% annually among 2,255 participating adolescents. Incidence among girls was significantly higher than in boys, 4.5% versus 1.3%, respectively. Incidence increased with age in girls and boys, although less so in boys (3.0% to 6.9% versus 1.7% to 2.6%). These adolescents were re-examined annually for 3 years, and a fluctuating pattern of TMD pain was common. Overall, 11.4% of all subjects reported TMD pain on at least 1 occasion; 88.6% of the cohort remained pain-free. Of those reporting TMD pain, 4.7% could be defined as intermittent cases, 3.1% were single-incident cases, 0.9% were recurrent cases, and 0.9% had continuing pain for 1 or 2 years.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of self-reported TMD pain among Swedish adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased with age, particularly among girls. The pattern of pain in most adolescents fluctuated over time. Less than 1% of the cohort had continued pain over each year, and the majority of these subjects were girls.