• Xin Xiong, Chuqiao Xiao, Xueman Zhou, Xiaojing Li, Jun Wang, and Yating Yi.
• National Clinical Research Center for Oral Diseases, State Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Department of Orthodontics, West China Hospital of Stomatology, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
• Pain Res Manag. 2023 Jan 1; 2023: 78862487886248.

BackgroundIt is necessary for dental students and dentists to apply their temporomandibular disorders (TMDs)-related knowledge to clinical practice. The current study aimed to evaluate the knowledge and awareness of postgraduate dental students and practicing dentists regarding etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of TMD in western China and thus provide suggestions on TMD curricula design to get postgraduate students and dentists better prepared for TMD diagnosis and treatment.MethodsThis observational and descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among postgraduate students and practicing dentists in western China. Twenty-five reorganized knowledge questions in four domains were selected from the published literature and were evaluated with answer options from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree," and "I don't know." "Consensus" is defined as more than 50% of respondents in a group agree or disagree with a statement. Chi-square tests were performed for comparisons between the two groups.ResultsA total of 132 postgraduate dental students and 123 dentists completed the questionnaire. Around 75% of postgraduate students and 85% of dentists claimed that they have never participated in systematic training in TMD. Nine statements in etiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of TMD had different consensus between the two groups. And the dentist group tended to agree more with 12 statements in the questionnaire.ConclusionsThe majority of Chinese dentists and dental students have not taken any TMD courses and possess limited knowledge of TMD. Curriculum reform for predoctoral education, postgraduate education, and continuing education is needed to augment knowledge and skills for TMD diagnosis and treatment.Copyright © 2023 Xin Xiong et al.

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