Splinting is the standard of care for stabilization of replanted or repositioned permanent teeth following
trauma. The present experimental study compared four dental
trauma splints in 10 volunteers. The evaluated
splints included a wire-composite
splint (WCS), a button-bracket
splint (BS), a resin
splint (RS), and a new device (TTS=
Titanium Trauma Splint) specifically developed for splinting traumatized teeth. All
splints were bonded to the labial surfaces of the maxillary lateral and central incisors.
Splints were left in place for 1 week. After
splint removal, the next
splint was placed after a 1-week rest period. The sequence of
splint application was randomized for each individual. The following parameters were assessed:
tooth mobility with horizontal and vertical Periotest values (PTV) before and after
splint application and
splint removal, respectively; probing depths, plaque and
bleeding on probing indices before
splint application and removal, and chair time needed for
splint application and removal. After
splint application, horizontal PTV were significantly lower in central incisors for BS compared to TTS (P=0.04), and for RS compared to TTS (P=0.005) and to WCS (P=0.006). Reduction of lateral
tooth mobility (=
splint effect) expressed by the difference between horizontal pre- and postoperative PTV was significantly greater in RS compared to TTS and WCS (P<0.05) for central as well as for lateral incisors. However, changes of vertical
tooth mobility were not significant across the splinting techniques. Periodontal parameters remained unchanged, reflecting the excellent
oral hygiene by the study subjects. The chair time needed for
splint application was significantly shorter for TTS (P<0.01). In conclusion, all tested
splints appeared to maintain physiologic vertical and horizontal
tooth mobility. However, the latter was critically reduced in RS
splints.