Objective:

To describe the clinical and sociodemographic characteristics of patients with temporomandibular joint ( TMJ) dysfunction at the University Hospital of Maracaibo.

Methods:

A retrospective study was conducted by assessing the clinical history of patients with TMJ dysfunction who underwent orthopedic treatment in the Oral Surgery Unit of the Dentistry Service of the University Hospital of Maracaibo. Information was collected on socio-demographic characteristics (age, gender, origin, and occupation) and clinical findings related to the presence, location, area, beginning, frequency, cause, and duration of pain, and signs present during mandibular dynamics; additionally, a structural and functional diagnosis was made. The data were processed and analyzed using SPSS v.9.

Results:

221 patients were included, with only 10% of the disorders observed in males. Regarding occupation, 39.1% worked at home and 28.3% were students. 97.2% of patients presented pain, and of these, pain was localized in 75%. During mandibular movement with maximum opening, 47.4% showed some difficulty, which was more significant in males. TMJ noises were noted in 74.9%, more often in females. In addition, the previous partial displacement of a disk with recapture presented an incidence of 66.4%.

Conclusion:

The prevalence of TMJ dysfunction was higher in female patients and in adulthood. Noises were present with a high frequency, as was limited mandibular movement.