Prevalence of symptoms associated with temporomandibular disorders in HongKong Chinese

Aims: To estimate the prevalence of self-reported symptoms associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and treatment-seeking in adult Chinese in Hong Kong. Methods: A telephone survey technique was used to identify 1,52 6 randomly selected Cantonese-speaking individuals aged 18 years or over. S tandard questions were asked about joint and jaw muscle pain, jaw opening, and joint sounds. In addition, questions on tooth grinding and clenching, s leep patterns, and treatment-seeking behavior were posed. Results: Jaw pain was reported by 33% of the population. Only, 5% of them bad frequent pain, with two thirds of this subgroup having moderate to severe symptoms. The p revalence of frequent problems with jaw opening and joint clicking was 0.3% and 1.8%, respectively. There were no gender-related differences in the re porting of TMD symptoms or related conditions. Conclusion: One percent of t he Hong Kong Chinese population had TMD-related jaw pain that was of modera te or severe intensity and occurred frequently; 0.6% of the population had sought treatment for jaw pain, impaired jaw opening, or joint clicking that occurred often in the previous year.