Prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and its clinical signs in Chinese students, 1979–2017: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Abstract Objective This study intends to assess the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and its clinical signs in Chinese students. Materials and Methods Search strategies were performed in seven electronic databases, and the reference lists from potentially relevant studies were searched manually. Only observational studies that met the eligibility criteria were selected. A validated instrument was used to evaluate the quality of the included studies. A random‐effects model was used to calculate the pooled prevalence of temporomandibular disorders and its clinical signs. Results Twenty‐three articles that met the eligibility criteria were included in this review and meta‐analysis. The prevalence of temporomandibular disorders was 29.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 23.7–35.1; n = 12,702), and a significant difference was observed between males and females. The most prevalent sign was temporomandibular joint sounds (17.4%; 95% CI, 13.8–20.6; n = 6,615) followed by abnormal jaw movement (12.3%; 95% CI, 9.1–16.7; n = 5,496) and pain (9.9%; 95% CI, 7.4–13; n = 4,552). Conclusions The overall prevalence of temporomandibular disorders in Chinese students was approximately 29.1%, and a statistically significant difference was observed between males and females. The most prevalent sign was temporomandibular joint sounds (17.4%), followed by abnormal jaw movement (12.3%) and pain (9.9%).