ABSTRACT
In this clinical study, pre- and post-rehabilitation changes in intraborder mandible movements, chewing cycles, masticatory efficiencies, and borders of the chewing area of patients with unilateral muscular disorders (MD) (n = 20) or unilateral disc derangement disorders (DDD) (n = 20) of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) were observed and compared with healthy individuals with full dentition (n = 20) (48 female, 12 male; mean age: 28). The MD patients received stabilization splints and the DDD patients, anterior positioning splints for six weeks. Symptoms, such as muscle pain, TMJ pain, headache, chewing difficulty, and maximum mouth opening, showed significant improvements after splint therapy for both MD (p = 0.000) and DDD (p = 0.000) patients, but lateral excursion and protrusion were not significantly changed (p > 0.05). Chewing efficacy and chewing cycles improved significantly (p < 0.05) in both the MD (p < 0.05) and DDD (p < 0.05) groups, but only the MD group was comparable to the control group after treatment. Pre- and post-rehabilitation chewing cycles along the frontal plane on both sides in the MD group were similar to the control group. Considering the majority of the improvements in the diagnostic measures, patients with MD and DDD may benefit from occlusal splint therapy.
Subject(s)
Mastication/physiology , Range of Motion, Articular/physiology , Temporomandibular Joint Disorders/physiopathology , Adult , Facial Pain/therapy , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Headache/therapy , Humans , Joint Dislocations/physiopathology , Joint Dislocations/therapy , Male , Mandible/physiopathology , Mandibular Condyle/physiopathology , Masseter Muscle/physiopathology , Middle Aged , Occlusal Splints , Orthodontic Appliance Design , Pterygoid Muscles/physiopathology , Temporal Muscle/physiopathology , Temporomandibular Joint Disc/pathology , Temporomandibular Joint Disorders/therapy , Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome/physiopathology , Temporomandibular Joint Dysfunction Syndrome/therapy , Treatment Outcome , Young AdultABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to compare quantitatively the masticatory performance of patients with overdentures supported by two implants, conventional complete dentures, and natural dentitions. Each patient was asked to chew a gelatin cube. The collected remains of the test food (gelatine cube) were fractioned by a sieving procedure and weighed. Maximum mouth opening and masticatory area were measured using kinesiography. There were statistically significant differences among groups with respect to masticatory performance using a 3.15-mm-diameter sieve (P < .001) and 0.5-mm-diameter sieve (P < .001), masticatory area (P = .019), and maximum mouth opening (P < .001). Increasing retention of a mandibular complete denture with two implants improved masticatory performance.
