Symptoms of Temporomandibular Dysfunction in Patients Submitted to Bucco-Dental Surgery

Objectives: To verify the symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in a sample of patients who made dental surgery, before and after the procedure. Methods: This is a clinical, longitudinal and quantitative study. The study population consisted of patients of both genders, aged between 16 to 60 years, selected in the surgery service. The participants answered two questionnaires to evaluate the presence of TMD symptoms, the TMD-Pain Screener questionnaire and the questionnaire of the European Academy of Craniomandibular Disorders (EACD). Results: 110 patients were evaluated, the most female (p <0.05). When questioned about which surgery was performed, the highest prevalence was of impacted third molars (37.3%), followed by third erupted molars (27.2%) and third molars included (18.2%). When evaluating the results of the TMD-Pain Screener questionnaire, there was statistical significance for all questions both in the pre- and post-operative periods. Regarding the EACD questionnaire there was no statistical significance for pain. When comparing the questionnaires at different times, there was no statistical difference in the EACD questionnaire and TMD-Pain Screener, only in relation to mouth opening and laterality movements (p = 0.04). Patients with and without TMD symptoms showed no statistical significance for any of the questionnaires. Conclusion: It was concluded that there was a high prevalence of painful TMD symptoms in patients who sought dental surgery. After the surgical procedure, there was a significant decrease in mandibular pain in the opening, protrusion and laterality movements. Thus, dental surgeries performed under adequate operative conditions do not affect TMD symptoms in patients.