Introduction:

Patients with mental disorders are subject to a greater number of risk factors for oral and temporomandibular diseases. This is due to the side effects of the medication they consume, the lack of self-care, the difficulty in accessing medical help, the attitude of the patients towards health professionals and also the lack of cooperation in their dental treatments.

Objective:

To determined the frequency of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) and the decayed, missing and filled teeth index (DMFT) in people with chronic psychosocial disability admitted to the Psychiatric Hospital of the city of Asunción.

Material and Methods:

This descriptive, observational and cross-sectional study was approved by the local ethics committee. One hundred and thirty-nine people with chronic psychosocial disabilities, of both sexes, over 18 years of age participated during May, 2018. The instruments used were a 3-item questionnaire, clinical examination with 5 indicators for presence of TMD, the odontogram for the DMFT index and the clinical charts.

Results:

A predominantly male population, with an age range between 40-50 years, and a high percentage of active smokers was found. TMD was found in 83.5% and the DMFT index was 22.8. Among the signs of TMD, joint noise was the most common.

Conclusion:

A high frequency of TMD was observed in people with psychosocial disabilities and a high CPO-D index.

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