Frequency of dental and traumatic events in the etiology of temporomandibular disorders

The records of 779 patients with temporomandibular disorders were reviewed to determine a possible association between traumatic events and onset of symptoms. A total of 330 patients (42.4%) reported such events, which were in several categories: sports accidents (2.2%) (N=779), surgery with general anesthesia (2.7%), battery (3%), automobile accidents (9.8%), dental procedures (10.5%), and combinations of two or more groups (14.2%). The symptoms occurred within one week of the event in 130 (33.4%) patients. The duration of symptoms ranged from a few days to 10 years with a mean of 4.7 years.