Purpose: To determine the prevalence of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) in female healthcare students and to assess its association with oral parafunctions, neck pain and function.

Methods: Female medical students will be included in the study on a voluntary basis using stratified sampling method according to the department they were being educated. The presence and severity of TMD will be assessed with the Fonseca's Anamnestic Index (FAI). The oral parafunctions will be self-reported with the Oral Behavior Checklist (OBC). The neck pain and function will be recorded with the Core Outcome Measure Index (COMI). A Chi-square test and Spearman correlation analysis will used for statistical analysis.

Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) has a multifactorial etiology related to parafunctional habits, emotional and psychological factors, trauma, posture, other musculoskeletal, or rheumatic disorders (1). Symptoms of TMD may include temporomandibular joint pain and clicks, headache, myofascial pain, decreased mandibular range of motion, masticatory muscle fatigue, limitation of mouth opening, pain when chewing, tinnitus, neuralgias, and bruxism (1,2). The severity of symptoms is related to the age and gender of the patients. Women showed a higher prevalence of TMD symptoms, with proportions varying from two to six women for each man, usually with ages between 20 and 40 years3. The distribution of age and gender in TMD, suggests a possible link between its pathogenesis and the female sex hormone, the estrogen, or between TMD and the mechanisms of pain modulation, as women show more sensitivity to most of the pain modalities (3,4) Epidemiologic studies showed that TMD prevalence in the students ranges from 50% to 77% (5-7). Several studies reported that a higher prevalence of TMD ranges from 47% to 81% in the Turkish student population (8-13). However, in some cases especially in students, the presence of TMD is asymptomatic. Therefore, the diagnosis of early symptoms and signs of TMD is crucial in preventing or minimizing TMD signs and symptoms (9).

Parafunctional habits such as bruxism, tooth clenching, gum chewing, biting foreign objects, and prolonged nail-biting might increase the risk of developing TMD (14). Even there are several studies examining the association of TMD and oral parafunctions in students (15-17); still, more studies are need to identify which oral behaviors cause TMD patients and healthy populations (18). Therefore, understanding the TMD symptoms in association with the oral parafunctions could provide different perspectives and an efficient treatment program (15).

To our knowledge, there is no study about TMD prevalence in female healthcare students and its association with oral parafunctions, neck pain, and function. The aims of this cross-sectional study were: (1) to evaluate the prevalence of TMD in female healthcare students and (2) to determine the association of TMD severity with oral parafunctional habits, neck pain and function.

Inclusion Criteria:

• be Adnan Menderes University student
• female gender
• express consent to participate voluntarily in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

• with recent trauma to head and face,
• history of systematic diseases and neurological disorders
• currently an ongoing orthodontic treatment

students who define themselves as female are included in our study

University students who are currently ongoing their education in healthcare department