This study aimed at providing an answer to two clinical questions related to patients with masticatory muscle
pain: 1) Does the use of a full-coverage hard acrylic occlusal appliance (stabilization
splint) lead to a significant decrease of symptoms? and 2) Is the treatment success achieved with a stabilization
splint more pronounced than the success attained with other forms of treatment (including placebo treatment) or no treatment? A systematic search was carried out in different electronic databases, supplemented by handsearch in four selected dental journals and by examination of the bibliographies of the retrieved articles. Thirteen publications, representing nine controlled clinical studies, could be identified. Reporting quality of most studies as assessed with the Jadad score ranged from 1 to 5. Based on the currently best available evidence it appears that most patients with masticatory muscle
pain are helped by the incorporation of a stabilization
splint. Nevertheless, evidence is equivocal if improvement of
pain symptoms after incorporation of the intraoral appliance is caused by a specific effect of the appliance. A stabilization
splint does not appear to yield a better clinical outcome than a soft
splint, a non-occluding palatal
splint,
physical therapy, or body acupuncture. The scarcity of current external evidence emphasizes the need for more and better clinical research.