Oral parafunctions and association with symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in Japanese university students

We examined whether oral parafunctions are associated with symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in 3557 Japanese university students, aged between 18 and 26 years. Participants completed a questionnaire regarding various oral parafunctions and subjective symptoms related to TMD, and underwent a dental examination. The prevalence of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) noise, TMJ pain and impaired mouth opening was 41.7, 16.0 and 16.3%, respectively. The most prevalent parafunction was sleeping on one side (60.2%), followed by supporting the jaw by leaning on the palm of the hand (44.8%). Mean age, decayed, missing and filled teeth, and number of teeth were not significantly different between TMD positive and negative groups according to unpaired t-test. The chi-squared test revealed that the ratio of females was significantly higher among students with TMD than without TMD. Multiple logistic regression models adjusted for age and gender demonstrated that chewing on one side caused an increased risk of TMJ noise [odds ratio (OR) = 1.52, P < 0.001], TMJ pain (OR = 1.54, P < 0.001), and impaired mouth opening (OR = 2.00, P < 0.001). Tooth clenching also increased the risk of TMJ noise (OR = 1.86, P < 0.001), TMJ pain (OR = 1.79, P= 0.001) and impaired mouth opening (OR = 1.88, P < 0.001). Further prospective cohort studies, including other potential risk factors, are required to clarify these relationships.