CONCLUSIONS
Within the limits of this study, the following conclusions
were drawn:
1. Dental occlusal structure is a cofactor that
accounts for only a small part of the temporomandibular
disorder patient samples studied (no more than
4.8% to 27.1% of the log likelihood). Although the
association of occlusion is definitely not zero, it should
not be overstated.
2. Nonocclusal variables (at least 73% to 95% of the log
likelihood unaccounted for) may be as or more important,
implying that a broad comprehensive work-up of all
TMD patients is required to produce a diagnosis. EffecTHE
JOURNAL OF PROSTHETIC DENTISTRY PULLINGER AND SELIGMAN
74 VOLUME 83 NUMBER 1
tive treatment should be similarly multifactor and probably
multidisciplinary-based in many patients.
3. It is impossible to draw etiologic interpretations in
prevalence-based models, and some occlusal variation
may be a consequence rather than a cause of TMD.
4. Single variables have more limited predictive value
for multifactorial problems in complex biologic systems
because they cannot exist in isolation. Therefore, sensitivity-specificity
testing of single occlusal variables had
lower yield in the current study than the multifactor
models presented.
5. It takes sets of adverse variables to model TMD.
The combination of occlusal variables appears to be disease
specific.