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Temporomandibular Disorders
Author Bios
Introduction
Epidemiology
Currently selected section: Population Perspective
Developmental Perspective
Ecological Perspective
Epidemiologic Measures
Defining a Case
Pain Location
Pain Frequency, Duration and Severity
Recency of Pain
Currently selected section: Ambient Pain or Pain on Function?
Clinical Signs and Symptoms
Pain Impact/Disability
Co-morbidity
Choosing an Appropriate Design
Cross-sectional Surveys
Longitudinal Studies
Case-control Studies
Prospective Designs
Preventive and Clinical Trials
Clinical Epidemiology
Practical Considerations
Sample Size
Standardizing Data Collection
Response Burden
Summary

 

Chapter 26: Studying the Epidemiology of Temporomanibular Disorders: Ambient Pain or Pain on Function
        

Another issue to be resolved in defining a TMD case is deciding whether to base the definition on:

  • Having ongoing (ambient) pain; or
  • Experiencing pain during mandibular function (e.g. while eating, while opening wide); or
  • Both ambient pain and pain on function.

Epidemiologic studies of TMD have defined cases based on the subject experiencing pain in the TMJ or masticatory muscles during one or more of a wide range of functional activities involving the jaw. These include pain on chewing, when opening wide, when yawning, when talking, during normal opening, when either opening or closing the jaw, or when performing any mandibular movement (Drangsholt and LeResche, 1999).

Generally, studies using case definitions based only on pain during function result in lower prevalence rates than those defining cases as people with ambient TMD pain.


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