Considered as one of the most common traumatic injuries of the maxillofacial region, mandibular fractures remain among the complex causes of temporomandibular joint disorders (TMDs). Due to the complexity of the temporomandibular joint, the management of TMDs represents a challenge in real-life practice; although many treatment modalities have already been proposed, ranging from conservative options to open surgical procedures, a consensus is still lacking in many aspects. Furthermore, despite continuous improvement of the management of mandible fractures, the duration of immobilization and temporary disability is not reduced, and the incidence of complications remains high. The aim of the present study is to (i) review anatomophysiological components of temporomandibular joint; (ii) review concepts of temporomandibular joint fractures; and (iii) describe methods of the recovery of the temporomandibular joint after mandibular fracture immobilization.
The World Health Organization warns about the threat of the COVID-19 sixth wave. Our aim was to propose the first validated Romanian questionnaire to assess people’s level of education and attitudes towards general measures to protect against COVID-19 infection. Our study was conducted on a sample of 194 people. The first version of the questionnaire consisted of 40 items. Items that did not meet psychometric criteria were removed. Latent components/factors were identified through exploratory factorial analysis (EFA). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient was used to assess internal fidelity. The EFA identified three factors. Factor 1 was named “Compliance with protective measures”, factor 2 was “Attitudes toward vaccination” and factor 3 was “Attitudes regarding potential COVID-19 therapies”. The final version of the questionnaire consists of 16 items. The test’s final score predicted the presence of vaccination with an accuracy of 0.773. The questionnaire score, the diagnosis of diabetes, the advice provided by healthcare workers and the medical profession proved to be significant predictors of vaccination. The implementation of our questionnaire within national programs could identify populational areas that need specific interventions to reach vaccination targets and prevent a full-blown sixth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Romania.