Stomatognathic dysfunction in the western desert of Egypt: an epidemiological survey

Results of a study of 215 male subjects from Siwa oasis are presented. The Siwian community is representative of the Bedouin communities in the Egyptian western desert. The population belongs to a characteristic ethnic group, living in a primitive way. The most prevalent symptoms were headache (29%), pain in the ear (24%) and clicking joint sounds (19%); 84% of the subjects suffered from tenderness of one or more of the masticatory muscles; 8% of the subjects had painful movements of the mandible. The results extend knowledge of the distribution of jaw dysfunction complaints into hitherto uninvestigated communities.