Third molar surgery, a common dental procedure in Dental Faculty University Malaya, is known to
pose many possible complications, one of which is temporomandibular disorder (TMD); a chronic pain
concerning the joint apparatus, masticatory musculature and the associated muscle of head and neck
region. This research aims (i) to examine the signs and symptoms of TMD following third molar surgery
(ii) to study the surgical components of third molar surgery that contribute to the development of TMD
(iii) to compare incidence of TMD between operative and non-operative group six months after third
molar surgery. A descriptive longitudinal cohort study was conducted by recruiting twenty-two patients as
subjects of an operative group, and twenty patients as subjects of a non-operative group. The operative
group were examined at baseline, one week, one month, three months and six months after surgery. Each
patient underwent a series of Diagnostic Criteria of TMD DC/TMD examination and history questionnaire.
In the operative group, we found (i) increased incidence of trismus (92%), myofascial pain (69%) and
clicking (77%) of the patient group at one week review (ii) two new incidences of signs and symptoms of
TMD at final review (iii) no significant relationship between operator qualification to development of TMD
(iv) no association between degree of impaction to development of TMD (v) no relationship between
duration of procedures to development of TMD (vi) there is a significant difference in signs and symptoms
of TMD between operative group and control group (p