“MANAGEMENT OF TEMPOROMANDIBULAR DISORDERS USING OCCLUSAL SPLINTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW”

Aim & Background: Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) is a condition with symptoms that include pain, clicking, noise, grating in the jaw joint, or problems in chewing or opening the jaw and is one of the most frequent causes of facial pain. Many therapies have been mentioned in the literature for their management. Occlusal splint therapy is one of the non-invasive treatment modalities. The objective of this study is to review the data from randomized controlled studies about the efficacy of occlusal splint therapy in treating temporomandibular disorders. Materials And Methods: A systematic literature search was done using databases PubMed/Medline, Research Gate, Google Scholar, Cochrane Library, Embase, Science Direct, and EBSCO for published studies from 1982 to March 2024 in the treatment of TMD by occlusal splints. A total of 39 randomized controlled trials were included in this review, Results And Conclusion: corresponding to 1,984 participants, and a majority of studies gave evidence of occlusal splint therapy being beneficial.