Evaluation of Association between Dietary Habits and Temporomandibular Joint Disorders
Author(s): Nur Liyana Hannah BintiIzham Akmal, Santhosh Kumar MP* and Revathi Duraisamy
Abstract
Temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) are often characterized by impaired function of the Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) and the associated neuromuscular system, which often leads to TMD-related pain. It involves a group of clinical conditions affecting the masticatory muscles, TMJ and other associated structures such as capsule and articular discs. Chewing and dietary habits are often considered as the factors stimulating the onset of TMD with many TMD patients complaining of pain around the area of TMJ following the intake of hard foods. The aim of this study was to evaluate the association of dietary habits of patients with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) and its effects on the development of TMD. This retrospective study was conducted by reviewing the case records of 86,000 dental patients reported to Saveetha Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, India from June 2019 to March 2020. About 104 cases were included in the study by a simple random sampling method. These included 52 patients with temporomandibular disorder, and 52 patients without temporomandibular disorder. Patient’s name, patient’s identification number (PID), age, gender and dietary habits were collected from the patients’ case records. Data collected were analyzed using the SPSS version 23.0 and results obtained. Descriptive analysis was done, and categorical variables were expressed in frequency and percentage. Chi square test was used to evaluate the association between dietary habits and TMD. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Majority of the patients were on a mixed diet (65.38%) and the rest of them were vegetarian (34.62%). Prevalence of TMD was seen slightly higher in males (51.92%) compared to females (48.08%). Most of the TMD cases were observed in individuals within the 31-40 years age group (46.15%). A statistically significant association was present between dietary habits and TMD [p=0.039 (<0.05)]. Within the limits of the present study, temporomandibular disorders (TMD) showed higher predilection in males, within 31-40 years of age and in mixed diet patients. The association between dietary habits and temporomandibular joint disorders were statistically significant.