Health Sciences Research

What are my chances of getting better?” And “How long will it take for the discomfort to improve?” are the two basic questions asked by individuals after they know about the influence of the stomatognathic system (SS) on their discomfort. Despite the biological unpredictability and variation, these individuals need some information. When searching in MEDLINE, some parameters may be found, but there are none about Jaw Functional Orthopedics (JFO). This study sample was composed of 146 patients with TMD and/or headache/neck pains, who were treated with JFO and divided into three groups. Group 1 exclusively with TMD; Group 2 with head and/or neck pain without symptoms of TMD (pain on palpation or movement); and Group 3 with TMD and head/neck pain. The symptoms monitored were arthralgia, and myalgia of the temporal, masseter or suprahyoid muscles, neck pain on movement or palpation, headache and cervicalgia reported. Odontogenic pain and headache originating from other sources (sinusitis, flu, pre-menstrual period, photophobia, hangover, etc.) were excluded from the study. The sample was aligned with the literature relative to prevalence of age and sex. Results showed that JFO treatment was effective in patients of the three groups. There was no statistical difference in mean time for remission among the groups. The results and conclusions should be analyzed with caution since there was no control group, and long term follow up is needed to check the behavior of the symptoms. However, the data from this study suggested that JFO was an efficient tool for treatment of patients with occlusal and biomechanical alterations of the SS, with chronic TMD, head and/or neck pain in a short period of time.

The benefits of reduced treatment time and comfort for patients undergoing corrective dental treatment with devices gave rise to the creation and modification of long-standing treatment protocols. One of the protocols used for these purposes is mechanical vibration. Objective: This review aimed to study the effects of mechanical vibration on bone. Methods: Portal Capes (periodicos.capes.gov.br) database was searched using the keywords “vibration” and “bone” with no date limit. Based on the title and abstract, the first 50 relevant studies were retrieved. The measured frequencies were between 4 and 150 Hz. Regarding exposure time and the number of applications, the variation is so wide that the average or median would not represent a realistic sample pattern. Results: In the retrieved studies, 41 reported improvements in bone conditions. Research studies show that a reproducible protocol is being applied in most studies on the effects of mechanical vibration on bone tissue. Conclusion: There is stimulation of bone biology, regardless of species, in the sense of osteogenesis in individuals exposed to high frequency mechanical vibration. To improve research protocols on the effects of vibrations on the body, more studies are needed.

Class II treatment is the leader of seeking for dentofacial correction in offices all around the world due, mainly, to facial esthetics impairment caused by this malocclusion. Mandibular forward repositioned is needed for the majority of this treatment. Jaw Functional Orthopedics (JFO) is a recognized protocol to treat Class II in growing patients. The aim of this investigation is to study the behavior of mandibular length in class II non-growing patients treated with JFO. Distance between Gonion and Mento were measured in lateral teleradiographs at T0 and T1 (from 18 to 21 months of treatment) of non-growing class II patients under treatment with JFO and mandibular supplementary growth was found (P = 0,006). In the sample studied jaw functional orthopedics showed to be efficient to correct the overjet in class II non-growing patients. Mandibular advancement with functional orthopedic appliances promotes a supplementary mandibular growth in non-growing patients. Further studies are necessary for a better comprehension of the subject.

Jaw Functional Orthopedics has efficient tools for treatment of deep bite, but, once they are bioplastic functional appliances, they have a considerable amount of acrylic resulting in volume that interferes with the individual phonetics. Planas had already described a Equiplan attached to a pipe to facilitate the use by the patient. Based on those ideas and in a attempt to improve use conditions of the functional orthopedic appliance, this paper presents the step by step of the manufacturing of an appliance with an Equiplan, used as background activity, or a main appliance, able to increase vertical dimension; used as contention in deep bite treatment; and in individuals with significant occlusal plane alterations, used as a mandibular deprogrammer. The appliance, when properly prescript, has a clinical conduction more efficient than occlusal splints because it does not require adjustment in every session. Its construction do not require articulated casts and can be done in less time in the laboratory.