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Objectives: Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) is a collective term for pain and functional disturbances related to the jaw muscles and the temporomandibular joint. In contrast to screening for orofacial pain, knowledge is limited on the association between patient-reported outcomes and screening for joint-related functional jaw disturbances. Therefore, our aim was to evaluate the association between a screening question for functional jaw disturbances, and disease-specific outcome measures for functional jaw limitations and oral behaviors.

Methods: This study included 299 individuals (201 women; 20-69 years, median 37.0) in a general population sample from Västerbotten, Northern Sweden in 2014. A single screening question for functional jaw disturbances “Does your jaw lock or become stuck once a week or more?” was used to categorize individuals as cases or controls. Patient-reported outcomes on functional jaw disturbances were assessed with the 20-item jaw functional limitation scale (JFLS-20) and oral behaviors with the 21-item Oral Behaviors Checklist (OBC-21).

Results: The strongest predictive probability to have a positive screening outcome was functional jaw limitations related to mobility (AUCboot=0.78, 95 CI:0.71-0.86, P <.001), followed by limitations related to communication (AUCboot = 0.74, 95 CI:0.63-0.80, P <.001) and mastication (AUCboot = 0.73, 95 CI:0.66-0.81, P <.001). The frequency of oral behaviors was not significantly associated with a positive screening outcome (AUCboot = 0.65, 95 CI:0.55-0.72, P =.223).

Conclusions: Self-reported functional limitations, but not oral behaviors, are strongly associated with a single screening question for frequent functional jaw disturbances. This finding provides support for incorporating a question on jaw catching/locking once a week or more in screening instruments for TMDs.