Disfunção temporomandibular e hábitos parafuncionais em policiais militares: um estudo transversal

Introduction: The temporomandibular joint is the only mobile joint of the skull, considered the most complex in the human body. The term TMD (temporomandibular dysfunction) is defined as a set of disorders involving the masticatory muscles, the temporomandibular joint and associated structures and is considered the major non-dental cause of pain in the orofacial region. Objective: The objective of this study is to estimate the prevalence of TMD, the degree of severity in military police officers and to analyze the relationship between the degree of severity of this dysfunction and parafunctional habits. Materials and methods: A descriptive cross-sectional field research with quantitative approach was performed. The universe consisted of 255 military police officers from the states of Maranhao, Para and Tocantins, from both genders, evaluated through the application of a questionnaire to evaluate the sample characterization variables, TMD severity by Fonseca Anamnesic Index and questions about parafunctional habits, electronically through the Google Forms platform. Inferential statistics techniques were used using Pearson's chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Results:The sample consisted of 255 participants aged between 20 and 53 years, 76.5% male and 23.5% male. % of female. The prevalence of Temporomandibular Dysfunction was observed in 66.3% of respondents, of which 40.4% had mild dysfunction, 21.6% moderate and 4.3% severe. Regarding parafunctional habits, it was found that of the respondents who presented dysfunction 24.7% clenched teeth, 20.8% chewed on one side, 19.6% chewed nails, 16.5% gnashed teeth, and 14, 5% chewed gum, these being the most prevalent habits. Conclusion: It was concluded that more than half of the participants (66.3%) presented TMD, with the highest prevalence of the lowest degree of severity and there was a significant association between TMD and parafunctional habits.