Evaluation of the short-term effectiveness of education versus an occlusal splint for the treatment of myofascial pain of the jaw muscles

Background. The authors conducted a clinical trial to compare the effectiveness of an education program with that of an occlusal splint in treating myofascial pain of the jaw muscles across a short period. Method. The authors assigned 44 patients randomly to two treatment groups; 41 patients completed the study. The first group (four male, 19 female; mean [standard deviation (SD)] age, 31.4 [14.0] years) received information regarding the nature of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and self-care measures, whereas the second group (five male, 13 female; mean [SD] age, 31.1 [8.8] years) received an occlusal splint. One of the authors evaluated each patient every three weeks during a three-month treatment period. Treatment outcomes included pain-free maximal mouth opening, spontaneous muscle pain, pain during chewing and headache. Results. After three months, changes in spontaneous muscle pain differed significantly between the education and occlusal splint groups (P = .034; effect size = 0.33). Changes in pain-free maximal mouth opening did not differ significantly between groups (P = .528; effect size = 0.20). Changes of headache and pain on chewing did not differ significantly between groups (P > .550, effect size < 0.10). Conclusions. During a short period, education was slightly more effective than an occlusal splint delivered without education in reducing spontaneous muscle pain in patients with TMD. Pain-free mouth opening, headache and pain during chewing were not significantly different between the two treatments.