Journal
JOURNAL OF ORAL REHABILITATION
Volume 30, Issue 1, Pages 17-29Publisher
BLACKWELL PUBLISHING LTD
DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2842.2003.01117.x
Keywords
temporomandibular disorders; bruxism; attrition; oral splints; orofacial pain; myofascial face pain
Categories
Funding
- NIDCR NIH HHS [R29 DE11714] Funding Source: Medline
- NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DENTAL &CRANIOFACIAL RESEARCH [R29DE011714] Funding Source: NIH RePORTER
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Both the efficacy and mechanism of any effect of oral splint therapy for patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) are a matter of controversy. To address these issues, this study tested the hypothesis that oral splints produce the most marked pain relief for those TMD patients with myofascial face pain (MFP) who also brux (i.e. grind or clench) more than other MFP patients. In a 6-week randomized controlled clinical trial, 52 women with MFP were randomly assigned to receive either a full-coverage hard acrylic splint or a palatal-only splint. Bruxism was assessed both by self-report and by an objective assessment of molar microwear changes over a 2-week period prior to the start of the trial. Tested across multiple outcome measures, results indicated that those receiving the full-coverage splint had marginally better improvement on some pain-related measures than those receiving the palatal splint, but severity of bruxism did not moderate the therapeutic effect of the full-coverage splint. These findings strongly argue against the belief that oral splints reduce MFP by reducing bruxism and raise questions about the importance of bruxism in the maintenance of MFP.
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