Personality Traits of TMD Experts Really Matters, A New Era in TMD Management. A Prospective Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND

Effective communication is critical in the management of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs). However, the influence of dentists' personality traits on communication and subsequent patient outcomes remains poorly understood.

PURPOSE: The primary objective was to determine which dentist personality traits are associated with more effective patient-centered communication. Secondary objectives were to examine whether these traits are linked to patient satisfaction, adherence to splint therapy, and improvements in psychological well-being.

STUDY DESIGN, SETTING, SAMPLE: This was a prospective longitudinal cohort study conducted at the Faculty of Dentistry, Mansoura University. The study included 30 dentists and 300 patients diagnosed with TMDs who met predefined eligibility criteria.

PREDICTOR VARIABLE: Dentists' personality traits, assessed using the Big Five Inventory-2 Short Form (BFI-2-S).

MAIN OUTCOME VARIABLES: The primary outcome was patient-centered communication, measured using the Patient-Centered Communication Scale (PCCS) at the 6-month follow-up. Secondary outcomes included patient satisfaction and adherence to splint therapy assessed at the 6-month follow-up, and change in psychological distress assessed using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-10 (DASS-10) from baseline to 6 months.

ANALYSES: Spearman correlation analyses were conducted with Bonferroni correction (α = 0.00125). Outcomes were further analysed using multilevel mixed-effects models with a random intercept for dentist (linear for continuous outcomes and logistic for binary outcomes).

COVARIATES: Patient age, dentist age, and dentist gender.

RESULTS

After Bonferroni correction, all correlations for conscientiousness, agreeableness, and negative emotionality remained statistically significant. For extraversion, only correlations with PCCS (p < 0.001), satisfaction with treatment expectations (p < 0.001), and splint adherence (hours/day; p = 0.001) remained significant; for open-mindedness, only correlations with PCCS (p = 0.001) and splint adherence (hours/day; p = 0.001) remained significant. These patterns were corroborated in adjusted multilevel mixed-effects models, showing directionally consistent associations across outcomes.

CONCLUSION

Dentists' personality traits-especially higher levels of conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability-were significantly associated with more effective communication, greater patient satisfaction, better adherence to splint therapy, and improved psychological well-being among TMD patients, emphasizing the importance of incorporating interpersonal characteristics into patient-centered clinical care.

TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov ID NCT07074366.