Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in children and adolescents evaluated with Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Background: The prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) in children and adolescents is not well-known. This is partly because TMD is not often diagnosed in children and partly because there is no agreed-upon definition of TMD. There is a growing body of evidence to suggest that there are gender differences in the prevalence and presentation of TMD in adult. The aim was to assess the prevalence of TMDs in subjects aged 8–19 evaluated with Diagnostic Criteria for TMDs (DC/TMD) and to assess gender differences. Methods: PubMed, Web of Science and Lilacs were systematically searched until 30 November 2022, to identify studies presenting children and adolescents patients affected by TMDs. Results: Out of 40 papers, three studies were included. The included subjects in this review were 1914 (1093 female and 821 male). Seven hundred and thirty-six on 1914 patients (38.4%) presented TMD. Among 1093 female, 489 (44.7%) presented TMD, while 247/821 male (30%) experienced TMD. Meta-analysis revealed that the female had a higher TMD prevalence than male (RR 2.10; 95% CI: 1.21–3.65). Conclusion: TMD prevalence in children and adolescence varies between 20% and 60%. Female had a higher prevalence of TMDs compared to male.