Acupuncture and occlusal splint therapy in the treatment of craniomandibular disorders. II. A 1-year follow-up study.

Abstract

Eighty patients, of whom 22 were men and 58 women, participated in a 1-year follow-up study. All participants in the study showed signs and symptoms of craniomandibular disorders (CMD) and had had pain for more than 6 months at treatment start. The patients were randomly assigned to either acupuncture or occlusal splint therapy. Those patients who did not respond to either of the treatment modes were offered various additional therapies. The result showed that 57% of the patients who received acupuncture and 68% of the patients treated with occlusal splint therapy benefited subjectively (p < 0.01) and clinically (p < 0.001) from the treatment over a 12-month period. No statistically significant difference was found between the two groups as to the assessment variables. Those patients who received various additional therapies after acupuncture and/or occlusal splint therapy responded favorably to additional treatment in only a few instances. The study showed that acupuncture gave positive results similar to those of occlusal splint therapy in patients with primarily myogenic CMD symptoms over a 1-year follow-up period.