Evaluation of the 3 mm Thickness Splint Therapy on Temporomandibular Joint Disorders (TMDs)

Nihat Akbulut,Ahmet Altan,Sibel Akbulut,Cemal Atakan

doi:10.1155/2018/3756587

Nihat Akbulut, Ahmet Altan + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/3756587

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Abstract

Objective. This study aimed at finding out whether the 3 mm thickness of stabilization splints has positive or negative effects on all temporomandibular disorder (TMD) symptoms. Materials and Methods. The statistical calculation included 25 (22 females; 3 males) TMD patients who received 3 mm thickness stabilization splint therapy. They were evaluated according to follow-up treatment period, TMD pain, muscle pain, mouth opening, diet score, and splint usage time per day. Results. There was important treatment success that 22 (88%) of patients were totally healed. There was not any remarkable effect or advancement of splints on total healings of TMDs in first 3 months' period (11/25 patients, 44%). The mouth opening mean reached 38, 67 mm at 6 months and 41 mm at 12 months with remarkable success. Except one (4%) patient, other 24 (96%) patients had a normal diet score of 3 at the end of splint therapy. There was no correlation between splint usage duration a day and total healing of TMDs. Conclusion. We conclude that 3 mm splint therapy should maintain at least 6 months to achieve remarkable results. Splint should be used at least 12 h a day consistent with our results. Finally, diet score should be incorporated with TMD pain and amount of mouth opening; hence, we advise to use in one term as “total healing.”

Highlights

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) encompass internal derangements of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), abnormalities of masticatory muscles and the neighboring structure of the TMJ, and TMJ-related headache conditions [1, 2]
10% of TMD patients tend to have the need of advanced treatment alternatives, such as arthroscopic or arthrocentesis lysis and lavage and open surgery modalities [9]. e usage of occlusal splints as an early or conservative treatment modality for TMD patients is currently a very common clinical practice [3, 4, 10,11,12,13]
We found that Idle et al [6] and Leandro et al [7] examined diet score with TMJ ankylosis and joint replacement. e diets of TMD patients were surveyed by Haketa et al [5], who reported that disc displacement TMD groups had worse impairment levels than myofascial disorder patients concerning putting food into their mouths and overall difficulty in consuming a meal, with myofascial disorder patients experiencing relatively less difficulty intaking food

Summary

Introduction

Temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) encompass internal derangements of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ), abnormalities of masticatory muscles and the neighboring structure of the TMJ, and TMJ-related headache conditions [1, 2]. TMDs include TMJ and facial pain, including tenderness to touch the facial region muscle ( masticatory muscles and the TMJ), uncoordinated jaw movements, and the presence of joint noise [4]. Despite the use of various types of occlusal splints made from a range of soft and hard materials, the most common splint used to treat TMDs, the stabilization splint, remains a valid option highly agreed upon among practitioners [8]. According to the literature review, splints of various thicknesses from 1 to 15 mm have been used to treat TMDs, but a thickness of 3–5 mm is preferred along with comfortable alternatives [8]

Results

Discussion

Conclusion