Mandibular movements in children with and without signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders.

This research aimed to evaluate mandibular movements in children with and without signs and symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction. The sample taken consisted of 99 children aged 3 to 5 years distributed in two groups: I - Absence of signs and/or symptoms of TMD (25 girls/40 boys); II - Presence of signs and symptoms of TMD (16 girls/18 boys). The symptoms were evaluated through an anamnesis questionnaire answered by the child's parents/caretakers. The clinical signs were evaluated through intra- and extraoral examination. Maximum mouth opening and left/right lateral movements were measured using a digital caliper. The maximum protrusive movement was measured using a millimeter ruler. The means and standard deviations for maximum mouth opening in Group I and Group II were 40.82mm±4.18 and 40.46mm±6.66, respectively. The values found for the left lateral movement were 6.96mm±1.66 for Group I and 6.74mm±1.55 for Group II, while for the right lateral movement they were 6.46mm±1.53 and 6.74mm±1.77. The maximum protrusion movements were 5.67mm±1.76 and 6.12mm±1.92, in Groups I and II, respectively. The mandibular movement ranges neither differed statistically between groups nor between genders. FAPESP Process 96/0714-6.