This study reports no relationship between exogenous estrogen and temporomandibular disorders

Subjects. The sample consisted of a stratified random sample of 510 women, 37 to 82 years old, who were participants in the Oral Health: San Antonio Longitudinal Study of Aging, an epidemiologic survey of oral health in a population-based probability sample of Mexican Americans and European Americans living in the San Antonio area. This sample was largely postmenopausal; the mean ages of the exposed and unexposed subjects were 60.2 and 60.7 years, respectively. Exposure. The exposure of interest was the use of exogenous estrogen, primarily for estrogen replacement therapy. Main Outcome Measure. The main outcome measure was signs or symptoms of TMD, as measured by the CMI score. Subjects with CMI values greater than or equal to 0.2 for the Muscle Index or the Dysfunction Index were considered to have relatively severe signs and symptoms of TMD. Main Results. The muscle and joint signs and symptoms in women taking estrogen were not significantly different than those in women not taking estrogen, after controlling for sociocultural, demographic, and health care use variables. In addition, estrogen use did not correspond with women having relatively high or low CMI scores.