The effects of a combined treatment program involving patient education and short-term simple-splint use on the awareness of daytime tooth-clenching

• Published in: Journal of the Japanese Society for the Temporomandibular Joint Vol. 22; no. 2; pp. 102 - 107
• Main Authors: WATANABE, Yuki, KATAOKA, Ryuta, ABE, Yugo, NAKAGAWA, Kiyoshi, MAYAHARA, Mitsuori, FUNATO, Masahiko, FURUYA, Ryoichi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Japanese
• Published: The Japanese Society for Temporomandibular Joint 2010
• Subjects: daytime tooth-clenching (DTC); patient education; simple-splint use; tooth contacting habit (TCH)
• ISSN: 0915-3004; 1884-4308
• DOI: 10.11246/gakukansetsu.22.102

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a combined treatment program involving short-term simple-splint use and patient education to increase awareness of the damage caused by daytime tooth-clenching (DTC) including a tooth contacting habit (TCH). The use of a simple-splint was not intended to achieve occlusal adjustment. The subjects answered a questionnaire consisting of two questions, one concerning an index of the awareness of DTC, and the other concerning the activities and locations during DTC. In this study, 49 patients who were suspected of engaging in DTC were given the questionnaire on four separate occasions: (1) at the initial medical examination before patient education; (2) at the initial medical examination after patient education; (3) during the second examination before using the simple-splint; and (4) during the third examination after using the simple-splint. The results of the four sets of questionnaires were analyzed as repeated measures of ranked data using Friedman's two-way ANOVA. From the first question, the selected numbers were used as an index of the awareness of DTC. Statistically significant differences were found between the first and the third or the fourth (p< 0.01) and the second and the fourth (p< 0.05). From the second question, the total number of locations or situations was used as a parameter. Statistically significant differences were found between the second and the fourth (p< 0.01) and between the second and the third (p< 0.05). Based on these results, it is suggested that a combined treatment program involving short-term simple-splint use and patient education on the awareness of DTC might be an effective means of developing patient awareness of DTC.