Prevalence study of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders in university students.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in university students from 19 to 25 years old, male and female, through the distribution of frequency of the data obtained from a questionnaire and physical examination. The results showed that 68% of the subjects exhibited some degree of TMD, and the women were the most affected. Signs and symptoms such as articular sounds, pain to palpation of the masticatory, cervical and scapular girdle musculature, subjective sensation of emotional stress, and postural and occlusal changes were more evident in the group with TMD, although they were also present in subjects classified as TMD-free. Limitations in the mandibular movements were not found. The association of the obtained data allowed identifying a high prevalence of signs and symptoms of TMD in the Brazilian university population.