Evaluation of Turkish dentists’ knowledge and awareness of temporomandibular disorders

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the awareness and treatment approaches of general dentists about temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Methods: A cross-sectional 21-item questionnaire study was performed and was sent to general practitioner dentists in Turkey. The demographics, length of professional experience, and their level of knowledge about TMD management were evaluated. Results: Eighty general practitioner dentists responded to the questionnaire. In the first part of the questionnaire, a statistically significant difference was found for the statement ‘One of the symptoms of TMD is headache.’ between the responses of dentists with more than 5 years of professional experience and those with less than 5 years of professional experience (p=0.012). No statistically significant difference was found in the responses to the other questions about TMD in other part of the questionnaire (p>0.05). Conclusion: The knowledge and awareness about the diagnosis and treatment of TMD is low among general practitioner dentists. Informative seminars or courses should be organized to increase the knowledge of TMD among general practitioner dentists.

Keywords

• Dentist
• etiology
• temporomandibular disorders
• temporomandibular joint