Diagnostic and screening inventories for temporomandibular disorders: A systematic review.

Objective

To evaluate reliable and validated temporomandibular disorder (TMD) diagnostic instruments for use as diagnostic tools in epidemiological surveys.

Methods

Two independent reviewers performed searches in the Medline/PubMed, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science databases to identify validation studies of diagnostic and screening instruments for TMD published up to March 2021.

Results

Sixteen studies were included for the systematic review. Different TMD instruments were evaluated, such as FAI, RDC/TMD, DC/TMD, Helkimo Index, and AAOP Questionnaire. The instruments differed according to the number of items. Some questionnaires appear to be effective for the initial screening of TMD patients and can be incorporated in clinical practice and epidemiological studies since they are easy and fast to apply.

Conclusion

To provide an accurate TMD diagnosis, it is important to use instruments that involve a clinical examination. Authors suggest the development of a new validated diagnostic tool for use in epidemiological surveys.