Abstract
BackgroundBruxism is a repetitive activity that causes tooth wear, audible sounds, and discomfort. Preventive measures have been studied for conditions that can exert a negative influence on physiological development in children. Low-level laser therapy administered over acupoints is an effective, painless, low-cost treatment option that has achieved good results. Thus, the aim of the proposed study is to evaluate changes in muscle activity, bite force and salivary cortisol in children with bruxism after the application of low-level laser to accupoints.MethodsThe children will be randomly allocated to four groups of 19 individuals: G1 - low-level laser; G2 - occlusal splint; G3 - placebo laser; and G4 - control (without bruxism). The BTS TMJOINT electromyography will be used to determine muscle activity and a digital gnathodynamometer will be used to measure bite force. Salivary cortisol will be analysed at baseline as well as one and six months after treatment. Two-way ANOVA will be employed and complemented by Tukey’s test.DiscussionBruxism is a repetitive activity of the masticatory muscles that can have negative consequences if not treated, such as tooth wear, noises, discomfort and anxiety. Thus, control and treatment measures should be taken. Although low-level laser therapy over acupoints has been indicated for children, the effects of this treatment modality have not yet been studied.Trial registrationNCT02757261 on 8 April 2016. This study protocol received a grant from the Brazilian fostering agency São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP: #2015/24731-0).
Highlights
Bruxism is a repetitive activity that causes tooth wear, audible sounds, and discomfort
Bruxism is a repetitive activity of the masticatory muscles characterised by grinding and/or clenching one’s teeth or movements of the mandible [1,2,3]
The aim of the proposed study is to investigate changes in maximum bite force one and six months after low-level laser therapy over acupoints and occlusal splint usage compared to muscle hyperactivity at baseline in children
Summary
This is a protocol for a randomised, controlled, clinical trial. The project received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Nove de Julho University (Brazil) under process number 1.333.636. Patients will be allocated as follows: Group 1 will receive low-level laser over acupoints; Group 2 will use an occlusal splint; Group 3 will receive placebo laser therapy over acupoints; and Group 4 (control group) will be composed of children without bruxism and will not receive any type of treatment. A clinical examination will be performed to determine the type of occlusion based on the Angle classification [33], which is the most practical, traditional system and is considered the gold standard in the literature This system is based on anteroposterior relationships of the maxilla and mandible: For the study of circadian rhythm of cortisol, two saliva samples will be collected at the home of the participant after at least one hour of fasting and after oral hygiene with water: one at 9 am and one before sleep. Stress will be determined by the quantification of salivary cortical prior to the onset of treatment and on Day 50
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