Abstract
Thirty subjects seeking treatment for masticatory muscle pain at a university-based TMJ clinic were randomly assigned to soft-splint, palliative-treatment, and no-treatment groups. After 4 to 11 weeks of treatment, subjects were evaluated for changes from their base-line levels of symptoms, maximum pain-free opening, pain thresh-olds measured by a pressure algometer, and occlusal contacts. With the use of the multivariate analysis of variance and analysis of covariance, the results suggest that the soft-splint group had statis-tically significant improvement (V < .01), the palliative-treatment group had improvement that was not statistically significant, and the no-treatment group had a slight aggravation of symptoms. The soft-splint group had fewer occlusal contact changes assessed with shimstock compared to the palliative-treatment and no-treatment groups. The findings of this study suggest that the soft splint is an effective short-term treatment for reducing the signs and symptoms of masticatory muscle pain in patients, and the soft splint does not cause occlusal changes.
Translated title of the contribution | A randomized clinical trial of intraoral soft splints and palliative treatment for masticatory muscle pain |
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Original language | Spanish |
Pages (from-to) | 192-199 |
Number of pages | 8 |
Journal | Journal of Oral and Facial Pain and Headache |
Volume | 9 |
Issue number | 2 |
State | Published - 1995 |
Keywords
- Myofascial pain
- Palliative treatment
- Selfcare
- Soft splint
- Splint
- Temporomandibular disorders
- Temporomandibular joint