Diagnostic and screening inventories for temporomandibular disorders: A systematic review

ABSTRACT

Objective: To evaluate reliable and validated temporomandibular disorder (TMD) diagnostic instruments for use as diagnostic tools in epidemiological surveys.

Methods: Two independent reviewers performed searches in the Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases to identify validation studies of diagnostic and screening instruments for TMD published up to March 2021.

Results: Sixteen studies were included for the systematic review. Different TMD instruments were evaluated, such as FAI, RDC/TMD, DC/TMD, Helkimo Index, and AAOP Questionnaire. The instruments differed according to the number of items. Some questionnaires appear to be effective for the initial screening of TMD patients and can be incorporated in clinical practice and epidemiological studies since they are easy and fast to apply.

Conclusion: To provide an accurate TMD diagnosis, it is important to use instruments that involve a clinical examination. Authors suggest the development of a new validated diagnostic tool for use in epidemiological surveys.

KEYWORDS:

• Temporomandibular joint disorders
• diagnosis
• epidemiology
• validation studies
• methods

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) for the financial support provided through an institutional studentship.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ Contribution

Raul Elton Araújo Borges and Luana da Rocha Alves Mendonça collected the data, performed the analysis, and wrote the paper. Patrícia dos Santos Calderon conceived and designed the analysis. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior - Brasil (CAPES).