Sensitivity and specificity of different indexes used to diagnose Temporomandibular Disorders
<p><strong>Objective:</strong> To verify the level of agreement among different indexes used to achieve the prevalence of Temporomandibular Disorders (TMD). <strong>Material and Methods</strong>: One hundred one dental students were selected by a randomized process. TMD were evaluated by the Fonseca’s Anamnestic Index (FAI), Helkimo’s Clinical Index (HCI), and the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD). Data was analyzed using Chi-square and Kappa tests, considering a significance level of 5%. <strong>Results:</strong><em> </em>HCI showed the highest prevalence of TMD, and the comparison between RDC/TMD, FAI, and HCI showed low agreement (k=0.17 and k=0.35 respectively). Most individuals presented mild TMD for both FAI and HCI indexes. A moderate correlation for TMD severity was obtained (k<sub>w</sub>=0.53) between FAI and HCI, and a high sensitivity and low specificity were observed for both diagnosis when compared to RDC/TMD. <strong>Conclusion</strong><em>:</em> The prevalence of TMD may vary significantly depending on the index used for its diagnosis, which may lead to a large number of false positives and overtreatments.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Epidemiology; Prevalence; Temporomandibular joint; Temporomandibular joint disorders; Young adult.</p>