In the modern day dental practice, having the right tools to immediately treat patients’ health needs is essential. Dental problems for patients can range from very simple to very complex, and being able to provide a diagnosis and follow-up plan with confidence is an everyday necessity. Stress in everyday life has increased, and with that, the symptoms of parafunction have been on the rise. We see many symptomatic effects from this in our everyday dental practice—from clenching and grinding to an increase in chipped and fractured teeth, muscle pain, and joint pain and tension, including headaches. While some patients present with straightforward, easily identifiable pathologies due to the increased overfunction, those who have long-term, slow-onset symptoms with chronic non-adapting damages can make us scratch our heads and wonder, “What is really going on here, and how are we going to help?”
This is where QuickSplint comes into play as a chairside therapeutic diagnostic tool. The temporary anterior stop splint has many uses in my practice, ranging from a diagnostic tool for joint and muscle differential diagnosis to a temporary therapeutic orthotic that can be worn as directed immediately. It helps build trust and confidence with the patient, ensuring them that they are in the right office, and that they’re being treated by a knowledgeable and compassionate doctor who is looking for the best way to get them out of pain and preserve their smile.
Let’s discuss how we use this wonderful tool in my practice for general dentistry and on the TMD specialty side (Figure 1).
QuickSplint in General Dentistry
On our general dentistry side, when a patient presents with red flags of occlusal dysfunction, we use QuickSplint as an immediate protection splint. Some examples of what we look for in our examination are abfractions, wear, chipped or fractured teeth, sensitivity, and tooth pain. These patients also may have self-reported muscle pain, jaw pain, and tension-induced headaches. We use the QuickSplint as an immediate treatment splint to help reduce the self-destruction the patient endures when they overfunction. Patients who have obvious cause-and-effect pathology understand and appreciate our desire to help them immediately with a take-home tool—without waiting for weeks to start the process.
On the other hand, it can be a challenge to treat patients who do not believe they clench or grind their teeth, yet are causing a multitude of problems. For these non-believer patients, QuickSplint is an eye opener and a great educational tool, as it helps show them that they are creating their own problems with parafunction. Patients can see and feel the difference that the temporary splint provides, which allows me to provide definitive care to improve their health.
QuickSplint in TMD Practice
On our TMD practice side we use QuickSplint as a testing tool in our diagnostic process to determine the degree of dysfunction in joints, muscles, teeth, and airway. This is done in a multitude of ways, from analog testing to Biometric measurement using Joint Vibration Analysis, EMG muscle testing (Figure 2) and T-Scan EMG force analysis (Figure 3). This diagnostic process using QuickSplint helps us determine which type of therapy will work for that patient’s complex condition.
The process is straightforward mechanics. If you reduce the muscle contraction power, you will decrease the over-hyperactivity of the muscles causing pain. With the reduction of muscle contraction, you decrease the force load and torque to the joint complex. Both of these therapeutic actions also help reduce the overall inflammation of the complex TMD system. This is not only a win for us as practitioners, but it gives the patient an immediate tool they can use to kickstart their journey toward better health.
