Occlusal appliance therapy in patients with temporomandibular disorders. A double-blind controlled study in a short-term perspective

Abstract

Stabilization appliances are commonly used in the treatment of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), although the treatment effects are not fully understood. This study evaluated the short-term efficacy of a stabilization appliance in patients with TMD of arthrogeneous origin, using a randomized, controlled, and double-blind design. Sixty patients were assigned to two equally sized groups: a treatment group given a stabilization appliance and a control group given a control appliance. Improvement of overall subjective symptoms was reported in both groups but significantly more often in the treatment group than in the control group (P = 0.006). Frequency of daily or constant pain showed a significant reduction in the treatment group (P = 0.02) compared with the control group. The results of this short-term evaluation showed that both the stabilization appliance and the control appliance had an effect on temporomandibular joint (TMJ) pain. It is improbable that the difference observed between the groups is due to chance alone.