The prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) is about two to five times higher in females than in males. Data for the higher prevalence of TMD in women and prevalence rates peak during the reproductive years and decrease after menopause. This indicated that female sex hormones may play a role in the etiology or maintenance of TMD. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between postmenopausal hormone use and TMD in Turkish postmenopausal women. One hundred-eighty (180), postmenopausal women, aged 42-72 years, were examined both clinically and by questionnaire with regard to the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders, general health status and use of postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy in the preceding year. Ninety-one (91) postmenopausal women (50.6%) were on hormone replacement therapy (HRT). The remaining 89 (49.4%) postmenopausal women were not on hormone replacement therapy. There was no significant difference found in the signs and symptoms of TMD between postmenopausal women using hormone therapy and those not using postmenopausal hormones. There was no association between the use of postmenopausal hormones and the signs and symptoms of TMD in this study.

The reported prevalence of symptoms related to bruxism varies in the general population because of different investigative methodologies, operational definitions, clinical criteria, and samples of population. Awareness of bruxism in the general population is 15% to 23%, however, this rate increases to 50% to 90% in clinical studies. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of self-reported symptoms associated with bruxism in Istanbul, Turkey and to analyze the correlation between bruxism and factors such as age, gender, marital status, and occupation. Seven-hundred-ninety-five (795) adult subjects who resided in the city of Istanbul were interviewed by telephone about their age, gender, marital status, occupation, and description of the prevalence of bruxism awareness. The overall prevalence of clenching teeth was 45.7% and that of grinding teeth was 21.6%. Women responded positively to the questions more often than men. The data showed significant differences between males and females, regarding clenching teeth OR: 1.41 (95% CI: 1.05-1.87), difficulty opening OR: 2.64 (95% CI: 1.63-4.26), headache on awakening OR: 2.28 (95% CI: 1.58-3.27) joint sounds OR: 1.72 (95% CI: 1.24-2.38), sore on awakening OR: 2.97 (95% CI: 1.91-4.61), influence in daily activity (OR: 2.26 CI: 1.38-3.67). Tooth wear in the married group was higher than the single group. Age distribution showed significant differences related to grinding teeth, tooth wear and joint sounds. There were statistically significant differences between bruxism and job categories. As a conclusion, this study suggest an association between bruxism and stressful events such as marital status and job problems.

The vacuum formed and heat cured acrylic splint may be equally worn in patient preference for treatment of temporomandibular disorders.