General joint hypermobility and temporomandibular joint derangement in adolescents.

Joint mobility was assessed in each member of an epidemiological sample of 96 girls and 97 boys, 17 years old, and graded by means of the hypermobility score of Beighton et al. Twenty two per cent of the girls and 3% of the boys could perform five or more of the nine manoeuvres. The prevalence of symptoms and signs of internal derangement in the temporomandibular joint was higher in adolescents with hypermobility of joints (score greater than or equal to 5/9). In subjects with a high mobility score oral parafunctions (overuse) correlated more strongly with several signs and symptoms of craniomandibular disorder than in those with a low score.