Confidence in diagnosing and treating temporomandibular disorders among dental students and faculty following implementation of the revised standards 2-24k: A cross-sectional study

Objective: Following recognition of orofacial pain as specialty in 2020, US dental schools are now mandated to incorporate temporomandibular disorder (TMD) education into their predoctoral curricula. However, the perception of dental students regarding their TMD knowledge is unclear. This study assessed confidence in diagnosing and treating TMD among dental students at a predoctoral dental school where TMD instruction has been integrated across the dental curriculum. Methods: A 10-item REDCap-survey was distributed to all dental students and faculty, assessing self-perceived confidence in TMD (0–100, 100=“Extremely confident”). Between-group differences were analyzed with independent t-tests and within-group differences across academic years and grade-point average (GPA) with ANOVA. Results: Among the 145 participants (108 = dental students), overall confidence in TMD was 52.7 ± 25.8 (49.3 ± 24.5 among students, 63.5 ± 26.8 among faculty). All participants reported the highest confidence in distinguishing between TMD/dental pain (59.5 ± 23.9) and the least confidence in adjusting occlusal appliances (43.8 ± 32.4). Students felt less confident than faculty in differentiating between TMD/dental pain (p =.005), establishing TMD diagnoses (p =.003), explaining TMD to patients (p =.010), understanding necessity for treatment (p =.003), adjusting occlusal appliances (p <.0001), and communicating with other providers (p <.001). Fourth-year students exhibited significantly higher confidence in establishing TMD diagnoses (p =.023), adjusting appliances (p <.001), and communicating with other providers than students in other academic years (p =.033). Students with higher GPA were more confident in differentiating between TMD/dental pain than those with lower GPA (p =.015). Conclusion: TMD-perceived confidence can improve with training. The current TMD curricula may be lacking in specific areas, emphasizing the importance of structured TMD education within all dental curricula.