{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T20:55:09Z","timestamp":1781643309900,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":12,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]],"date-time":"2026-03-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773705600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,24]],"date-time":"2026-04-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776988800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":38,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["BMC Oral Health"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Occlusal splint therapy is widely used in the conservative management of temporomandibular disorders (TMDs); however, the objective functional effects of different splint designs remain incompletely understood. This study aimed to compare the effects of night guard and stabilization splint therapy on temporomandibular joint\u2013related parameters using surface electromyography (sEMG) and digital occlusal analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 84 participants were included and divided into three groups: stabilization splint (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200921), night guard (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200913), and a control group of TMD patients who did not receive splint therapy (\n                      <jats:italic>n<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u200950). Diagnoses were established according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC\/TMD). Mandibular range of motion (ROM), disclusion time (\u0394), and masticatory muscle activity (temporal and masseter muscles) were recorded at three time points. Statistical analyses were performed using generalized estimating equations for repeated measures and, when appropriate, non-parametric Friedman tests for within-group comparisons.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      Baseline demographic characteristics were comparable among groups (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&gt;\u20090.05). ROM increased modestly over time across all participants (mean change\u2009+\u20092.1\u00a0mm; 95% CI: 0.5\u20133.7;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.008), without significant Group\u00d7Time interaction (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.070). Disclusion time showed no significant longitudinal change (mean difference\u2009\u2212\u20090.03\u00a0s; 95% CI: \u22120.12 to 0.06;\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.320). Right temporalis activity demonstrated significant time (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.042) and group effects (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009=\u20090.049), with stabilization splints showing lower variability and more consistent neuromuscular adaptation patterns compared with night guards. No significant interaction effects were detected for other muscles (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u2009&gt;\u20090.05).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Objective functional assessment using sEMG and digital occlusal analysis suggests that stabilization splint therapy provides more consistent neuromuscular adaptation than night guard therapy, despite limited changes in disclusion time. These findings highlight the importance of objective measurement techniques in evaluating occlusal splint therapy and support the clinical use of stabilization splints when functional consistency is a primary treatment goal in patients with TMD.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s12903-026-08099-8","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]],"date-time":"2026-03-17T04:33:35Z","timestamp":1773722015000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["Comparative evaluation of night guard and stabilization splint therapy on temporomandibular joint function using surface electromyography and digital occlusal analysis: a DC\/TMD-based study"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"26","author":[{"given":"Serdar","family":"G\u00f6zler","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nurcan","family":"Durmaz","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"reference":[{"issue":"12","key":"8099_CR1","first-page":"1273","volume":"99","author":"R Ohrbach","year":"2020","unstructured":"Ohrbach R, Dworkin SF. The evolution of TMD diagnosis: Past, present, future. J Dent Res. 2020;99(12):1273\u20139.","journal-title":"J Dent Res"},{"issue":"1","key":"8099_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"6","DOI":"10.11607\/jop.1151","volume":"28","author":"E Schiffman","year":"2014","unstructured":"Schiffman E, Ohrbach R, Truelove E, et al. Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders (DC\/TMD) for clinical and research applications. J Oral Facial Pain Headache. 2014;28(1):6\u201327. (metodolojik referans).","journal-title":"J Oral Facial Pain Headache"},{"issue":"3","key":"8099_CR3","first-page":"261","volume":"49","author":"A De Laat","year":"2022","unstructured":"De Laat A, et al. Conservative management of TMD: where do we stand? J Oral Rehabil. 2022;49(3):261\u201373.","journal-title":"J Oral Rehabil"},{"issue":"7","key":"8099_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"843","DOI":"10.1111\/joor.12977","volume":"47","author":"EA Al-Moraissi","year":"2020","unstructured":"Al-Moraissi EA, et al. Effectiveness of occlusal splints in management of TMD: systematic review. J Oral Rehabil. 2020;47(7):843\u201357.","journal-title":"J Oral Rehabil"},{"issue":"3","key":"8099_CR5","first-page":"305","volume":"47","author":"D Manfredini","year":"2020","unstructured":"Manfredini D, et al. Current concepts on occlusal splints. J Oral Rehabil. 2020;47(3):305\u201312.","journal-title":"J Oral Rehabil"},{"issue":"2","key":"8099_CR6","first-page":"123","volume":"35","author":"D Manfredini","year":"2021","unstructured":"Manfredini D, et al. Splint therapy outcomes: limits of evidence. J Oral Facial Pain Headache. 2021;35(2):123\u201330.","journal-title":"J Oral Facial Pain Headache"},{"issue":"2","key":"8099_CR7","first-page":"109","volume":"47","author":"R Ohrbach","year":"2020","unstructured":"Ohrbach R, et al. DC\/TMD Axis I and II reliability. J Oral Rehabil. 2020;47(2):109\u201319.","journal-title":"J Oral Rehabil"},{"issue":"1","key":"8099_CR8","first-page":"1","volume":"39","author":"RB Kerstein","year":"2021","unstructured":"Kerstein RB. Combining digital occlusal analysis and EMG in TMD management. Cranio. 2021;39(1):1\u201310.","journal-title":"Cranio"},{"issue":"3","key":"8099_CR9","first-page":"412","volume":"14","author":"W Maga","year":"2024","unstructured":"Maga W, et al. Clinical value of digital occlusal analysis in TMD. Diagnostics. 2024;14(3):412.","journal-title":"Diagnostics"},{"issue":"18","key":"8099_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"6912","DOI":"10.3390\/s22186912","volume":"22","author":"D Shopova","year":"2022","unstructured":"Shopova D, et al. Digital occlusion tracking in splint therapy. Sensors. 2022;22(18):6912.","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"8099_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"180","DOI":"10.1186\/s12903-023-02897-0","volume":"23","author":"S Orzeszek","year":"2023","unstructured":"Orzeszek S, et al. Efficiency of occlusal splint therapy on orofacial muscle pain. BMC Oral Health. 2023;23:180.","journal-title":"BMC Oral Health"},{"key":"8099_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0171296","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0171296","volume":"12","author":"JK Pficer","year":"2017","unstructured":"Pficer JK, et al. Occlusal stabilization splints in TMD: long-term outcomes. PLoS ONE. 2017;12:e0171296.","journal-title":"PLoS ONE"}],"container-title":["BMC Oral Health"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s12903-026-08099-8","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s12903-026-08099-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s12903-026-08099-8.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,16]],"date-time":"2026-06-16T20:15:31Z","timestamp":1781640931000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1186\/s12903-026-08099-8"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"references-count":12,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,12]]}},"alternative-id":["8099"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s12903-026-08099-8","relation":{},"ISSN":["1472-6831"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1472-6831","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,17]]},"assertion":[{"value":"16 January 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"10 March 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"17 March 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"order":1,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of Istanbul Atlas University Faculty of Dentistry (Approval No: 07\/10, Date: 28.07.2025). Written informed consent was obtained from all participants prior to enrollment.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Ethics approval and consent to participate"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Consent for publication"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":4,"name":"Ethics","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Competing interests"}}],"article-number":"725"}}