Editing Openai/69357ba5-899c-8006-b1f7-01afc4acae67 (section)

=== Assistant: Short answer: Supermarket/night-market boil-and-bite splints are generally not advisable for long-term use — especially… ===
Short answer: Supermarket/night-market boil-and-bite splints are generally ''not'' advisable for long-term use — especially for someone with your dental background and occlusal awareness — because yes, they can change the occlusion in an undesirable way and even worsen joint/muscle problems.

Here is the detailed explanation:

==== Supermarket or “boil & bite” night guards are not custom-fitted and therefore: ====

===== Because they are thick and uneven: =====
* They force the mandible into a random, non-physiologic position
* This can alter habitual occlusion
* In some people, this creates or worsens TMJ symptoms (clicking, deviation, muscle tension)

===== Soft EVA guards (most OTC types): =====
* Encourage more clenching, not less
* The material “gives way”, stimulating the chewing reflex
* Can lead to more masseter hypertrophy and morning tension

===== A therapeutic splint must have: =====
* Stable, even contacts
* Proper anterior guidance
* Disclusion of posterior teeth during movement

OTC splints cannot provide this — they introduce random contacts.

==== Yes, especially with prolonged nightly use. ====

Possible consequences:
* Posterior open bite after prolonged anterior contact
* Shift of the mandible due to uneven thickness
* Extrusion of unopposed teeth (long-term)
* Changes in muscle memory (myocentric shift)

Even dentists avoid soft splints for themselves because of this.

==== Only temporarily, for: ====
* Short-term bruxism protection during stressful episodes
* Emergencies when waiting for a custom guard
* Patients with intact occlusion who need very short term protection

But still not ideal.

==== As you know from your prosthodontic/implantology background: ====

===== A hard, custom-fitted, full-arch maxillary stabilization splint (Michigan splint / Minnesota splint). =====

It:
* Creates an even occlusal table
* Positions the mandible neuromuscularly
* Protects restorations and implants
* Does not randomly alter occlusion

Given your clinic setup with in-house lab and CAD/CAM, you can easily produce a splint that:
* Has perfectly even contacts
* Is adjusted chairside
* Can be milled in PMMA or printed in rigid resin

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==== - Compare Michigan, Tanner, Fox, or Kois deprogrammer ====
* Provide a clinical guideline for which splint type is ideal based on symptoms (e.g., bruxism, disc displacement, muscle pain)
* Draft a patient information sheet for your clinic
* Show CAD/CAM milling recommendations for splints

Would you like that?