Diagnosis of temporomandibular disorders according to RDC/TMD Axis I findings. A multicenter Italian study

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the prevalence of the different
Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (RDC/TMD) Axis I
types of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in a population of subjects seeking
for TMD treatment at 2 University Departments in Italy and to compare it with
data from similar studies in the literature, in order to assess the usefulness of
the RDC/TMD classification system as a tool for epidemiological data gathering
and multicenter and cross-cultural comparison. METHODS: A total of 210
consecutive patients seeking for TMD treatment at the Section of Prosthetic
Dentistry, Department of Neuroscience, University of Pisa, Italy, and 109
consecutive patients seeking treatment at the Section of Prosthetic Dentistry and
Temporo-mandibular Disorders, University of Pavia, Italy, were assessed using
RDC/TMD. RESULTS: Only 181 of the patients referring to the University of Pisa
and 104 of those referring to the University of Pavia satisfied the criteria for
inclusion. Findings from the 2 study populations were very similar. Mean age of
the patients was 40 years, with a female:male ratio of 3.5:1 (222 females, 77.9%;
63 males, 22.1%). The prevalence of RDC/TMD Axis I diagnoses was 50.2% (143/285)
for Group I disorders (muscle disorders), 38.6% (110/285) for Group II disorders
(disc displacement), and 50.2% (143/285) for Group III disorders (arthralgia,
osteoarthritis, osteoarthrosis). CONCLUSION: Results from the present
investigation have confirmed the usefulness of the RDC/TMD classification system
for research purposes and for data gathering in cross-cultural and multicenter
comparisons.