title: Controlled assessment of the efficacy of occlusal stabilization splints on sleep bruxism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the efficacy of occlusal stabilization splints in the management of sleep bruxism (SB) in a double-blind, parallel, controlled, randomized clinical trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one participants were randomly assigned to an occlusal splint group (n = 11; mean age = 34.2 +/- 13.1 years) or a palatal splint (ie, an acrylic palatal coverage) group (n = 10; mean age = 34.9 +/- 11.2 years). Two polysomnographic recordings that included bilateral masseter electromyographic activity were made: one prior to treatment, the other after a treatment period of 4 weeks. The number of bruxism episodes per hour of sleep (Epi/h), the number of bursts per hour (Bur/h), and the bruxism time index (ie, the percentage of total sleep time spent bruxing) were established as outcome variables at a 10% maximum voluntary contraction threshold level. A general linear model was used to test both the effects between splint groups and within the treatment phase as well as their interaction for each outcome variable.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Neither occlusal stabilization splints nor palatal splints had an influence on the SB outcome variables or on the sleep variables measured on a group level. In individual cases, variable outcomes were found: Some patients had an increase (33% to 48% of the cases), while others showed no change (33% to 48%) or a decrease (19% to 29%) in SB outcome variables.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The absence of significant group effects of splints in the management of SB indicates that caution is required when splints are indicated, apart from their role in the protection against dental wear. The application of splints should therefore be considered at the individual patient level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral Function, Section of Oral Kinesiology, Academic Center for Dentistry Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van der Zaag
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lobbezoo
authors.forename: Darrel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Wicks
authors.forename: Corine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Visscher
authors.forename: Hans L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Hamburger
authors.forename: Machiel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naeije
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017090:Occlusal Splints; D017286:Polysomnography; D020186:Sleep Bruxism / Q000628:therapy*; D013997:Time Factors; D016896:Treatment Outcome