Association Between Craniofacial Morphology and Temporomandibular Disorders

Objectives: The main objective of this study was to investigate the association between temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and craniofacial morphology in completely dentate adults. The influence of different craniofacial morphologies on TMD pain symptoms was also evaluated.
Methods: Two hundred subjects (mean age of 27.3 ± 6.4 years) were selected and divided in two groups: (1) with TMD (experimental, n = 100) and (2) without TMD (controls, n = 100). The Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) was used to diagnose the presence of TMD. Subsequently, all subjects were submitted to conventional lateral cephalometric radiographs and were classified as Brachyfacial, Mesofacial or Dolichofacial by Ricketts' cephalometric analysis. Data were submitted to the Likelihood Ratio Chi-Square test (α = 5%).
Results: The results showed no association between vertical craniofacial morphology and TMD (p > 0.05). However, craniofacial morphology can influence the presence of painful symptoms in TMD patients, once all brachyfacial subjects diagnosed with TMD presented pain (p = 0.0077).
Conclusions: Although there is no association between craniofacial morphology and TMD in this study sample, attention should be given to brachyfacial subjects, since they are more susceptible to present pain symptoms arising from TMD.