Knowledge and Beliefs of General Dental Practitioners Regarding Temporomandibular Disorders in Sanandaj, Iran

Statement of the Problem: In Iran and most countries temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are part of the education curriculum of general dentistry. Most patients with these disorders are first referred to dentists. Therefore, awareness of general dentists’ knowledge in this field is very important. Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge and beliefs of general dental practitioners regarding temporomandibular disorders in Sanandaj, Iran. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire, containing ۲۰ questions about TMD (diagnosis and classification, treatment and prognosis, chronic pain and pain behavior) was given to ۸۰ randomly selected general dental practitioners in Sanandaj as well as to ۱۰ TMD experts (oral and maxillofacial surgeons and prosthodontists) in Hamadan. Results: An overall response rate of ۸۰% was achieved among the participants. The knowledge of general dental practitioners about TMD was similar to that of TMD experts in over half of the questions. Most of the agreements between the two groups were in the treatment domain and most disagreements were in chronic pain and pain behavior. Conclusion: According to the results, there is a need to develop and strengthen undergraduate dental course curriculum and continuous education programs in TMD and orofacial pain.