Production time of a bite splint
The production time of a bite splint depends on the used plastic. All methods have the same impression taking at the beginning. This can be done with the material alginate (duration 10 minutes, costs low) or digitally with a camera (duration 10 seconds, costs high!).
These impressions are poured with freshly mixed plaster on a so-called vibrator to avoid the formation of bubbles (6 min.). After the plaster has hardened (2 hours), the model of the jaw, which is to carry the splint, is embedded in metal pellets in a thermoforming unit (5 min.) in such a way that only the teeth protrude.
A plastic foil is electrically heated under a heating spiral and placed over the model by means of a swivel arm. There, the foil is pressed onto the model under suction and cools down. The model can then be removed and processed.
The excess is removed with a milling machine (15 min. ), the edges are polished. Then both models are placed in an articulator (artificial jaw joint, duration 15 min.)
and the splint is ground so that it does not impair the jaw (5 min.). With the patient in the mouth, this procedure is repeated later until all teeth are in even contact with the splint (5 min). In summary, it can be said that this type of fabrication takes about 3 hours. Another method, where the scattered plastic is polymerized in a pressure pot, takes about 2 hours longer.
Summary bite splint
The term bite splint refers to a dental appliance made of plastic, the shape of which is adapted to the individual dental arch of the respective patient. Bite splints are used in dentistry mainly for the treatment of diseases of the masticatory system (technical term: myoarthropathies). Wearing the bite splint reduces unphysiological tooth contact (technical term: parafunctions) and prevents the teeth from rubbing and pressing against each other.
By wearing the bite splint regularly, overloading and/or incorrect loading of the teeth and jaw joint, which cause enormous pressure forces, should be eliminated. The effects of such incorrect loading, for example the occurrence of frequent headaches or muscle pain in the area of the temporomandibular joints, can be treated particularly effectively in this way. In addition, it must be noted that the hard tooth substance (especially the enamel) is increasingly attacked and abraded by frequent or strong teeth grinding and clenching.
In dental terminology, this phenomenon is called abrasion. The application of the bite splint also counteracts this problem, because the tooth surfaces are separated from each other by a firm plastic layer and therefore do not come into direct contact with each other. As a rule, it is not necessary to make a separate bite splint for the upper and lower jaw, wearing the appliance in one half of the jaw is usually sufficient to ensure the desired success of the treatment.
The bite splint has to be worn by the main part of the patient only during sleep (i.e. at night). In particularly pronounced cases, however, the use of the splint during the day can also be useful.
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