Prevalence and treatment strategies regarding temporomandibular disorders in children and adolescents-A systematic review

Abstract

Aims: Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in children/adolescents are very common. Yet, there is a lack of consensus regarding which clinical interventions are appropriate. The aim of this systematic review was to gather and assess the quality of the available literature on the prevalence and evidence-based treatment strategies in children and adolescents suffering from TMD.

Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted including articles from 1992 to 2016. A total of 2293 articles were found. Eight were included, six regarding prevalence and two regarding treatment. Simple or multiple conjunctions of different search words: "temporomandibular disorder", "temporomandibular joint disorder", "prevalence", "children" "adolescents", "occlusal appliance", "jaw exercise" and "relaxation" were used on the databases PubMed and Web of Science. Inclusion criteria were (a) scientific articles or randomised controlled clinical trials evaluating prevalence, choice of therapy and treatment outcome for children and/or adolescents with TMD published in Swedish or English and (b) a TMD diagnosis according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD or Diagnostic Criteria for TMD.

Results: Prevalence (ages 10-19 years) varied between 7.3 and 30.4%, and the most common diagnoses were myofascial pain and anterior disc displacement with reduction. Only two articles were found regarding treatment in adolescents (ages 12-18 years). The stabilising occlusal appliance had superior treatment outcome compared to relaxation therapy or brief information.

Conclusion: The general absence of standardised studies concerning children/adolescents with TMD pain states the evident need for further systematic prevalence and treatment evaluations. Considering this, it is not possible to achieve any evidence-based treatment strategies or guidelines for children and adolescents with TMD.

Keywords: adolescents; children; prevalence; systematic review; temporomandibular disorders; treatment.