Occlusal interventions, specifically full hard stabilisation splints, might reduce muscle pain when chewing but deliver uncertain outcomes in managing symptoms associated with temporomandibular disorders (TMD).
The poster examined the effects of occlusal interventions such as splints or adjustments on individuals diagnosed with temporomandibular disorders. A thorough search for relevant studies was conducted from various sources, including the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials and MEDLINE. The focus was on randomised controlled trials that compared occlusal interventions to a lack of treatment, placebo, and active treatments. Standard Cochrane methods were employed to select studies, extract and analyse data, assess the risk of bias in the studies and judge the certainty of the evidence. The outcomes reported were separated into short-term (three months or less) and long-term (over three months).
The discussion of results outlines that the study involved 57 research trials, including 2846 participants that compared occlusal splints with either no treatment, a placebo, or a different treatment. The examined periods of these studies varied from 5 weeks to 84 months. Key outcomes of interest were self-reported joint pain when chewing, muscle pain at rest and when chewing, discomfort, severity and frequency of joint noise, and recurrence rate. Results indicated a possible reduction in muscle pain when chewing in cases where a full hard stabilisation splint, a type of occlusal splint, was implemented compared to no treatment. However, outcomes were uncertain due to limitations in study design and imprecision. Therefore, the study concluded that there is insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of occlusal interventions in managing temporomandibular disorder symptoms.
