COVID-19 and Temporomandibular Disorders - Comparison of 3 Time Periods

Objectives: The objective of the present study was to compare the effect of the pandemic on painful and non-painful TMD in men and women, at three consecutive time points: before the pandemic (pre-COVID), during the lockdown periods and after the pandemic subsided (post-COVID).
Methods: A total of 587 adult patients (108 in the pre-COVID group, 180 in the during lockdown group and 252 in the post-COVID group), who arrived for a routine dental treatment at the School of Dental Medicine, Tel Aviv University, between October 2018 and January 2023 were evaluated according to Axis I diagnosis of the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC/TMD). Neither of the subjects arrived for treatment with a specific complaint referring to TMD. Each patient received a DC/TMD Axis I diagnosis as follows: (i) Painful TMD (defined by the presence of at least one of the following - local myalgia, myofascial pain with referral, arthralgia, or headache attributed to TMD); (ii) Non painful TMD (defined by the presence of disc displacement with/without reduction, degenerative joint disorders and/or dislocation).
Results: Two-way ANOVA analyses were performed to compare between time points and evaluate interactions between time and gender. Painful TMD group showed main effects of time (F=24.842, p<0.001) and of gender (F=14.304, p<0.001) with an interaction between the two variables (F=3.897, p<0.05). In the non-painful TMD group a main effect of gender (F=4.536, p<0.05) and a significant interaction between gender and time (F= 3.628, p<0.05) were found.
Conclusions: Results show that the COVID-19 pandemic had a different effect on women than on men with regard to painful and non-painful TMD diagnoses.