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The biting surfaces of your top teeth are covered by an occlusal splint, a thin, rigid acrylic guard that is fastened to the upper jaw. It’s designed to be used at night. An occlusal splint won’t help you stop clenching or grinding your teeth. In order to protect your teeth from the negative consequences of bruxism, it does assist to direct the jaw into a neutral position, easing some of the stress on the jaw joint. For those who grind their teeth, have a history of discomfort and dysfunction in their bite or temporomandibular joints (TMJ), or have had a full mouth reconstruction, an occlusal splint or orthotic device is a mouth guard that has been specifically created. An articulator, a device that replicates the movement of the jaws, is used to create a personalized occlusal splint utilizing thorough study models. The occlusal splint, which is constructed of processed acrylic resin, is intended to assist the jaw as it travels frontally and laterally
The patient is typically coerced into phase II therapy as a result. Contrary to popular belief, functional jaw movements employ different muscles than parafunctional jaw movements. To halt or at least manage bruxism, trauma and elevator muscle contraction must be interrupted. The stimulus needed to cause the tempo-ralis muscles to contract is reduced if the back teeth cannot be loaded. The lateral pterygoid muscles no longer need to work since their role has been lost when there is no tramatic vertical posterior stress. However, masseter muscles may continue to flex and sustain the clench. When the interocclusal rest gap is sufficiently breached (opened), elevator muscles may contract. These are the hallmarks of brain-derived parafunctional activity
