The International journal of prosthodontics
-
Clinical Trial
Aggravation of respiratory disturbances by the use of an occlusal splint in apneic patients: a pilot study.
This pilot study was designed to test the hypothesis that the use of a single oral splint may aggravate respiratory disturbance in sleep apneic patients. ⋯ This open study suggested that the use of an occlusal splint is associated with a risk of aggravation of respiratory disturbances. It may therefore be relevant for clinicians to question patients about snoring and sleep apnea when recommending an occlusal splint.
-
This study evaluated the ability of five elastomeric impression materials to penetrate the gingival sulcus beyond the preparation margin. ⋯ These results suggest that the viscoelastic behavior of elastomers depends on the width of sulci. Moreover, the sulcus simulation model effectively contributes to the investigation of their characteristics.
-
This study assessed multiple pain conditions and their association with psychosocial functioning, psychologic distress, and somatization in patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD) based on RDC/TMD Axis II findings. Nonspecific pain items examined included headaches, heart/chest pain, lower back pain, nausea/abdominal pain, and muscle pain. ⋯ Results suggest that the number of nonspecific pain conditions reported may be a predictor of psychosocial dysfunction, depression, and somatization.
-
The aim of this report was to study the ability of examiners to measure reliably the clinical signs of temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Four examiners participated in this study of 11 TMD patients and 25 nonpatients. ⋯ Point estimates and measures of spread for reliability measures of single clinical TMD signs as well as combinations of signs into diagnostic categories from the Helkimo index and Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders involving joint noises were sufficient in a group of four examiners.
-
The purpose of this study was to present a personal view of the development of prevailing opinions about temporomandibular disorders (TMD) during the last half century from a mechanistic to a psychosomatic concept. It also presents some hypotheses concerning: (1) the role of stress in the etiology of human oral parafunctions and its relationship to oral stereotypies in domestic animals; and (2) the pathogenetic mechanisms of masticatory muscle pain. ⋯ The formerly dominant bite-centered therapies--including intraoral appliances, the effects of which still are unexplained--appear to be increasingly banished to the domain of placebo Hence, to an ever-increasing extent occlusal treatments are replaced by physiotherapy and cognitive behavior therapy. The presented hypotheses may have implications for the understanding of the origin of oral parafunction and masticatory muscle pain.