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The impact of temporomandibular disorders on oral health-related quality of life

Derek Richards

This critical summary of a systematic review published in 2010  was  prepared under the auspices of the American Dental Association Center for Evidence-Based Dentistry.

The original review authors were looking at the relationship between oral health-related quality of life (OHQOL) and temporomandibular disorders (TMDs).

The critical summary noted that the review question could have been more clearly defined and more methodological details could have been provided in several areas.  Because of variability between the studies a numerical estimate of the impact of TMDs on OHQOL was not conducted so a narrative summary was provided.

While the original review authors noted that TMDs had a negative impact on OHQOL the summariser notes that the quality of evidence supporting this is difficult assess owing to methodological weakness in the review.

Go to ADA critical summary

Go to abstract of original review

 

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Written by

Derek Richards is a specialist in dental public health, Director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Dentistry and Specialist Advisor to the Scottish Dental Clinical Effectiveness Programme (SDCEP) Development Team. A former editor of the Evidence-Based Dentistry Journal and chief blogger for the Dental Elf website until December 2023. Derek has been involved with a wide range of evidence-based initiatives both nationally and internationally since 1994. Derek retired from the NHS in 2019 remaining as a part-time senior lecturer at Dundee Dental School until the end of 2023.

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  • John Radford

    John Radford

    14 years ago
    with people who suffer from TMDs, we were all very struck by this qualitative research :“Well, I felt terrible, especially when my GP [general medical practitioner]…told me I was a timewaster…” , “Always in the corner, you know, at a party taking painkillers and drinking water rather than having fun”. But when a practitioner made a diagnosis, a sufferer commented “I mean you had a name for it and you knew you weren’t alone with it so it eased your mind…”. Living with uncertainty: temporomandibular disorders Durham J, Steele JG et al. J Dent Res 2010; 89:827-830