2026-06-24T13:32:52Zhttps://docta.ucm.es/rest/oai/request

oai:docta.ucm.es:20.500.14352/1237322025-09-06T00:06:10Zcom_20.500.14352_14col_20.500.14352_15

Clinical Manifestations of Temporomandibular Disorders and Their Relationship with Sleep Disturbances and Emotional Disorders in a Spanish Pediatric Population: A Cross-Sectional Study Tapia-Sierra, Fanny Esther Ticona-Flores, Jesús Miguel Elvira-Tapia, Naomi Gallardo López, Nuria Esther Reichard-Monefeldt, Guillermo Diéguez Pérez, Montserrat The etiology of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) has been linked to various factors, including functional and psychological factors, which makes it difficult to identify associations between a single etiological factor and the signs and symptoms of TMDs. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the presence of TMD symptoms and their relationship with sleep disturbances and emotional disorders in children and adolescents. Methods: This observational study included Spanish children aged between 8 and 13 years. The measurement instruments consisted of the BRUNI survey for sleep disorders and the Educational-Clinical Questionnaire: Anxiety and Depression (CECAD) survey. A clinical examination was subsequently performed following the DC/TMD guidelines for diagnosing TMDs. Frequencies, means, and standard deviations were applied, along with the prevalence ratio as a measure of association and the chi-square test. The significance level was set at 5%. Results: A total of 128 participants participated in the study with a mean age of 10.89 (±2.15) years. The prevalence of TMDs was 54%, while the most common symptoms were muscle pain at 26%, joint pain at 14%, and a combination of both at 14%. Children who presented muscle pain had a mean anxiety score of 44.87 (±11.85), whereas those without symptoms had a mean score of 36 (±10.78, and 0.03 p-value). The BRUNI index revealed that 78.13% of patients with TMDs had difficulty initiating and maintaining sleep, with a prevalence ratio (PR) of 3.57 (p-value 0.041). Conclusions: The present study reveals that temporomandibular disorders are common in children and adolescents, with 54% presenting at least one clinical sign or symptom. Emotional disturbances and sleep problems were also prevalent, affecting 41% and 56% of participants, respectively. Early interdisciplinary screening is essential to manage the co-occurrence of TMDs, emotional distress, and sleep problems in children. 2025-09-05T09:44:11Z 2025-09-05T09:44:11Z 2025-09-05T09:44:11Z 2025-05-21 journal article https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14352/123732 XXXX-XXXX 10.3390/jcm14103599 2077-0383 eng Tapia-Sierra FE, Ticona-Flores JM, Reichard-Monefeldt G, Elvira-Tapia N, Gallardo-López NE, Diéguez-Pérez M. Clinical Manifestations of Temporomandibular Disorders and Their Relationship with Sleep Disturbances and Emotional Disorders in a Spanish Pediatric Population: A Cross-Sectional Study. J Clin Med. 2025 May 21;14(10):3599. doi: 10.3390/jcm14103599 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ open access Attribution 4.0 International MDPI