The Prevalence and Possible Association of Different Types of Temporomandibular Disorders Among Young Adult Patients With Anterior and/or Posterior Crossbite: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and the possible association of the different types of temporomandibular disorders among young adult patients with anterior and/or posterior crossbites.

Methods: This cross-sectional study included 584 individuals (259 male participants and 325 female participants) aged 18-29. The temporomandibular joint examination was conducted according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) Axis I tests. In addition, dental and occlusal examinations were conducted to investigate the presence or absence of anterior and/or posterior crossbites. A chi-square test was used to evaluate any possible association between TMDs and gender and crossbite groups. A binary logistic regression analysis was performed to compute the odds ratios and assess the predictability of TMDs based on the presence or absence of crossbites.

Results: Here, 47.1% of participants had a positive TMD. The presence of muscle disorder, disc displacement, and other joint disorders among participants was 16.4%, 26.7%, and 25.7%, respectively. The prevalence of TMDs in the female participants was significantly greater than in male participants (P= 0.046). There was a significant difference in the prevalence of disc displacements among crossbite groups (P= 0.026), and the anterior crossbite group had the highest prevalence (41%). There was no significant difference in the prevalence of muscle disorder and other joint disorders among crossbite groups (P= 0.149; P= 0.052, respectively). According to the binary logistic regression, only an anterior crossbite was significantly associated with higher predictability for disc displacement and other joint disorders (OR= 2.4; P= 0.008, OR= 2.34; P= 0.01, respectively). The presence of only a posterior crossbite was significantly associated with higher predictability for the occurrence of the disc displacement (OR= 1.58; P= 0.03).

Conclusion: The risk of development of disc displacement may be increased by the presence of an anterior or posterior crossbite. Also, the risk of developing other joint disorders may be increased by the presence of only an anterior crossbite.