Alteraciones verticales del tercio inferior de la cara y su relación con trastornos temporomandibulares en estudiantes entre 13 y 16 años de la ciudad de Cuenca

Abstract

We performed a cross-sectional study to determine the alterations of the lower third of the face and its relation to temporomandibular disorders . 239 subjects were examined between 13, 14, 15 and 16 years old , four schools in the city of Cuenca randomly selected non-probabilistic . Clinical examination was conducted of students chosen and applied direct measurements. With clinical and functional examination determined the presence of crowding , rotations , tooth interference , premature contacts , with direct measurements were analyzed alterations of the lower third of the face by applying Legan index . The results were processed using the data package Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS Version 15.0 ) to relate the variables set , finding that subjects with vertical changes of the lower third of the face also presented temporomandibular disorders ( α = 0.04) , there is about sex more often in females but not statistically significant compared to males. Comparisons were made with studies conducted in other regions of South America, Europe and Asia. Since in our country there are no studies of this type . The results of some of these other studies are consistent and differed from those found in the sample of students of the south of Ecuador. At the conclusion of this research it can be stated by the results of this study that malocclusions and occlusal trauma are not significantly associated with TMD, however, changes the lower third of the face of decline have a statistically significant relationship with TMD regardless of sex