CLINICAL EFFECT OF FULL COVERAGE OCCLUSAL SPLINT THERAPY FOR SPECIFICTEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDER CONDITIONS AND SYMPTOMS

Purpose. The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the e ffect of maxillary full-coverage occlusal splint (stabilization splint ) therapy for specific temporomandibular disorders and their symptoms/ signs. Material and methods. This study assessed the outcome of 232 pa tients who were suffering from chronic pain on movements, joint noise except reciprocal clicking, and difficulty of mouth opening. All were treated with the stabilization splint alone. Results. The total remiss ion rate was 41% and, including those reporting some improvement, the rate was 84%. The presence of displaced disk significantly decreased t he success rate. However, the presence or absence of radiographic chan ges in the temporomandibular joint did not influence the treatment out come. Conclusion. From this study, it is suggested that the stabilizat ion splint therapy may be a useful treatment modality in treatment of temporomandibular disorders, especially for the patients without clini cal evidence of displaced disk.