Journal of Craniomandibular Function, 04/2013

The aim was to assess changes in prevalence of some reported TMD-related symptoms and dental status in 50-year-old subjects who were followed for 20 years. Identical questionnaires were sent to all subjects born in 1942 and living in two Swedish counties every fifth year, from 1992 to 2012. The response rate varied between 71 to 75%, resulting in five cross-sectional samples varying from 5,697 to 6,513 subjects, and a longitudinal sample of 3,585 subjects participating in all examinations. The great majority (80 to 90%) reported no symptoms related to TMD. Prevalence and symptom severity changed only little over time. Less than 3% considered their TMD symptoms to be severe or rather severe. The mean prevalence of TMD-related symptoms and bruxism was greater in women than in men, whereas gender differences in the number of teeth were extremely small. The longitudinal sample had similar prevalence of TMD-related symptoms and reported bruxism, but had more teeth and better chewing ability than the cross-sectional samples. It was concluded that the prevalence of TMD-related symptoms was low but higher in women than in men, whereas there was no gender difference in dental status. The longitudinal sample had more teeth than the cross-sectional samples but there was no difference regarding TMD-related symptoms. Keywords: bruxism, chewing ability, dental status, epidemiology, questionnaire study

In children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA), temporomandibular joint involvement may lead to disturbances in dentofacial growth and mandibular function. The authors present a case of a 16-year-old patient with JIA, mandibular retrognathia and transverse maxillary hypoplasia, which was corrected with a combined orthodontical-surgical treatment. The occurrence, impact of dentofacial disturbances in JIA, and the literature are discussed.

Condylar position analysis enables the quantitative comparison of the condylar position under differing conditions. A distinction is made between indirect condylar position analysis using stationary condylar position measuring instruments and records and the condylar position analysis performed directly on the patient. For the condylar position analysis using a stationary condylar position measuring instrument, the maxillary model was, until now, first mounted in the articulator; this was followed by bite registration procedures on the patient and the mounting of the mandibular model according to the centric bite record. The measuring procedure and its evaluation did not take place until after completion of these steps. This article describes a modified procedure that enables a condylar position analysis to be performed using a stationary measuring instrument immediately after the registration of the jaw position. To this purpose, the mandibular model is mounted in the articulator in the habitual occlusion prior to the bite registration appointment. The measurements in the condylar position measuring instrument are made on the basis of this position. To improve the reliability of the condylar position analysis with the stationary condylar position measuring instrument, the bite transfer templates should be used for positioning the jaw models. Keywords: condylar position analysis, instrumental functional analysis, habitual occlusion, centric jaw relation, reliability, validity