1993 Volume 31 Issue 3 Pages 478-484
In order to conduct as epidemiologicainl vestigationo f the TMJ dysfunction syndrome,4 604s tudentso fj unior high schoola nd high schoolsin Tokyo( 930b oys and 843 girls)a nd Kagoshima( 1507b oysa nd 1324g irls)w erei nvestigatedc linically according to the clinical signs.
The TMJ dysfunction syndrome has been defined as the prevalence of one or more of the following three signs: (a) sounds during condyle movements, (b)limitation of mandibular movement, (c) pain in the region of the mastication and the temporomandilbuajro ints (TMJ). The resultsw ere as follows:
1. The prevalencei n the TMJ dysfunctions yndromei n these subjectsi n Tokyo and Kagoshimao f similart endencyw as determinedi rrespectiveo f the region.
2. The prevalenceo f the TMJ dysfunctions yndromei n Tokyo and Kagoshima, was more common among girls than boys. The prevalence of the TMJ dysfunction syndrome classified particularly by schools was found to show a differencein the prevalencein two schoolsin whicht here were more girlst han boys, the number of studentss howingn otabled ifferenceb y sex being marked. However, there was no statisticallys ignificantd ifferenceb etween the sexes
3. The most frequent sign of the TMJ dysfunction syndrome in Tokyo and Kagoshimaw ass ingles igna nd concerningth e frequencyo f the individuals igns, the most common one was that of the TMJ sounds. It was found that the singles ign of the TMJ dysfunctions yndromet ended to decrease, i n portion to the advancemenot f age, whilet he pain and the limitationo f the mandibular movement were shown to have a tendency to increase.
4. As to the form of the signs, the single sign had a greater prevalence than the combineds igns. Amongt hose subjectsi n Tokyoa nd Kagoshimaw ith combined signs, girls showed greater prevalence than boys.
