Prevalence of self-medication among university students diagnosed with temporomandibular disorders

Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) usually affect the stomatognathic system and can be symptomatic. Patients often self-medicate to relieve symptoms, and this can increase the risk of complications such as adverse drug reactions, overdose, physical and psychological dependence, and delay of appropriate treatment. It is important for dentists to know the prevalence of self-medication to investigate this condition in their patients, thus the primary aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of self-medication among university students with no TMD, non-painful TMD and painful TMD and the secondary aim was to assess association with independent factors. An online questionnaire was used to assess TMD symptoms (DC/TMD-Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders: Clinical Protocol and Assessment Instruments) and self-medication practices (QAM/TMD-Questionnaire on the practice of self-medication associated with mandibular disorders). Qualitative data were analyzed using the Fisher's exact test and chi-square test, while the relationships between qualitative and quantitative data were examined using Spearman's rho correlation test. The level of statistical significance was set at p-value < 0.05. In total, 179 university students completed the questionnaire, of which 113 (63.1%) reported TMD symptoms. The majority (84.9%) practiced mild self-medication, and only 12.3% of patients with TMD symptoms practiced moderate or severe self-medication. Students with painful TMD are more likely to self-medicate than those that remain unaffected or exhibit non-painful TMD.