Orthokinetic splint as treatment of trigeminal neuralgia associated with temporomandibular dysfunction

Introduction: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a disorder characterized by recurrent unilateral brief electric shock-like pains, abrupt in onset and termination, limited to the distribution of one or more divisions of the trigeminal nerve, and triggered by innocuous stimuli. The worldwide prevalence of TN is estimated to be 0.3%. The prevalence of temporomandibular dysfunction (TMD) is assumed to be > 5% of the population. The study of the association of TN and TMD and their management with a repositioning splint is not enough, perhaps not studied yet. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to clinically observe the effectiveness of repositioning a splint in managing TN associated with TMD. Materials and methods: Thirty-three subjects fulfilled the selection criteria and were taken into consideration until a 4-month follow-up. The original sample enrolled 16 patients, but five declined the informed consent. Finally, 11 subjects were followed up until 4 months of clinical trial. Results: The use of splint had statistical differences and improved the visual analog scale scores and falling recurrent spasmodic attacks. In addition, the splint increases between 1.2 and 2.4 mm of the distance between the mandibular condyle and mandibular fossa. Conclusion: It can be concluded that the splint could be an option in managing TN associated with TMD