The Prevalence of Disc Displacement in Symptomatic and Asymptomatic Volunteers Aged 6 to 25 Years

The purpose of this investigation was to determine a possible association between disc displacement and temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Fifty-six Brazilian asymptomatic volunteers (25 males and 31 females) and 181 symptomatic TMD patients (112 females and 69 males) participated. Volunteers did not have temporomandibular joint pain, limited jaw opening, joint sounds, or previous TMD treatment. Bilateral temporomandibular joint magnetic resonance imaging scans were obtained from all subjects. Joints were classified as normal or having disc displacement. Asymptomatic volunteers had 28 (25%) joints with disc displacement; 10 (18%) had unilateral and 9 (16%) had bilateral disc displacement. Of the TMD patients, 25 (13.8%) had bilateral symptomatic but normal joints. Fifty-one (28.2%) had unilateral and 105 (58%) had bilateral disc displacement. Odds ratios (12.2 [95% confidence interval = 6.1 to 24.4, P = .001]) suggest a strong association between disc displacement and TMD. This study suggests that disc displacement is relatively common (34%) in asymptomatic volunteers and is highly associated with patients (86%) with TMD.