CRANIOMANDIBULAR DISORDERS IN CHILDREN - A CRITICAL-REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Reports of prevalences of craniomandibular disorders (CMD) in children and adolescents differ markedly from one study to another. Therefore it is almost impossible to get a clear picture of the magnitude of the disorder in a child population. The aim of this study was to critical ly compare and analyse the results presented in recent publications in order to get a comprehensive view of the prevalence of CMD in childre n and adolescents. Fourty epidemiological studies on CMD symptomatolog y and headache in the agegroup three to 25 years were included. Eight symptoms and eight signs were chosen for further comparisons and analy ses. The prevalences of these signs and symptoms were evaluated and cl assified according to a set of criteria, in either frequency of ''grea ter clinical relevance'' or frequency of ''lesser clinical relevance'' . The evaluation was based on the presented examination methods, defin itions and symptom criteria used in the studies. The reported frequenc ies for the sixteen signs and symptoms are presented graphically. The diagrammes clearly show great variation in the reported frequencies fo r most signs and symptoms. If only reported frequencies of ''greater c linical relevance'' are considered, these variations are less pronounc ed but still considerable. One major reason for this is inter- and int raindividual variation among the examiners. Another plausible and ofte n overlooked reason is the fact that examination methods designed for adults uncritically have been applied on children without consideratio n of age and cognitive development of the child.