Dentists’ Temporomandibular Disorder‐Related Education, Knowledge, Attitudes and Behavior: How Do Personal and Educational Experiences Matter?

Objectives Temporomandibular disorders (TMD) affect 5%–12% of US adults. The objectives were to assess dentists’ TMD‐related education, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior and to explore whether TMD‐related experiences were associated with these constructs. Methods A total of 296 dentists responded to a survey. Descriptive statistics provided an overview of the results, and Pearson correlation coefficients described the relationships between dentists’ TMD experiences, knowledge, attitudes, and behavior. Results Only 17.2% were satisfied with classroom‐based and 10.1% with clinic‐based TMD‐related education; 29.6% described their classroom‐based and 17.8% their clinic‐based education about TMD diagnosis positively; 37.7% were confident in their TMD‐related knowledge, but 94.1% recognized their limitations when managing TMD. The majority agreed that TMD is a physical/anatomical problem (87.3%), behavioral problem (74.3%), psychosocial problem (71.6%), and that stress plays a role for TMD (93.1%). Most dentists had positive attitudes toward diagnosing TMD (82.8%), felt responsible for treating TMD (63.1%), regularly saw patients with TMD (58.2%), and screened patients for TMD (67%). Concerning treatments utilized, 63.3% used occlusal appliances, while only 23.6% prescribed medications. 43% had experienced TMD themselves. The more persons they knew with TMD, the more treatment‐related knowledge they reported ( r = 0.26; p < 0.001), the more positive were their attitudes ( r = 0.16; p < 0.01), the more comfortable they were treating TMD ( r = 0.25; p < 0.001), and the more they cared for patients with TMD ( r = 0.34; p < 0.001). Conclusions TMD‐related dental and continuing education should reconsider classroom‐ and clinic‐based TMD training. Personal TMD experiences correlate with more positive attitudes and behavior. This should alert dental educators to the importance of engaging students and dentists in hands‐on education.