Clinical Validity of the Protocol for Multi-Professional Centers for the Determination of Signs and Symptoms of Temporomandibular Disorders. Part II

• Published in: Cranio Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 62 - 67
• Main Authors: Maria de Felicio, Cláudia, de Oliveira Melchior, Melissa, Rodrigues Da Silva, Marco Antonio M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Taylor & Francis 01-01-2009; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Care and treatment; Case-Control Studies; Dentistry; Diagnosis; Female; Humans; Medical protocols; Methods; Outcome and process assessment (Health Care); Outcome Assessment (Health Care) - methods; Patient outcomes; Reference Values; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity of Illness Index; Temporomandibular joint disorders; Temporomandibular Joint Disorders - diagnosis; Brazil
• ISSN: 0886-9634; 2151-0903
• DOI: 10.1179/crn.2009.010

The aims of this study were to analyze the criterion and construct validity of Part II of the protocol for multi-professional centers for the determination of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (ProTMDMulti) as a measure of TMD severity. The study was conducted on eight asymptomatic subjects (CG) and 30 subjects with articular TMD (TMDG), according to the Research Diagnostic Criteria for TMD (RDC/TMD). The ProTMDMulti-Part II was validated using the Helkimo Clinical Dysfunction Index (Di). The construct validity was tested using the analysis of the ability of ProTMDMulti-part II to differentiate the CG from the TMDG and to measure the changes that occurred in the TMDG between the period before and after TMD treatment. Correlations between the Di and the ProTMDMulti-Part II scores were calculated using the Spearman test. Inter- and intragroup comparisons were made (p<0.05). There was a statistically significant correlation between the Helkimo Clinical Dysfunction Index (Di) and the severity scores of the ProTMDMulti-Part II. There was a significant difference between TMDG and CG regarding the severity of signs and symptoms. The present study provides statistical evidence of the clinical validity of the ProTMDmulti-Part II as a measure of the severity of TMD symptoms.