Trismus is an involuntary contraction of the jaw muscles (muscles of mastication) causing a restriction of mouth opening. This occurs when the connective tissue becomes tight and short. Serious health implications include: inability to chew and digest food properly, difficulty speaking and compromised oral hygiene. The Dynasplint® Trismus System actively stretches the muscles of the face and can be used for patients with openings as small as 9mm. The Dynasplint® Trismus System was developed for home use. It is used 3 times a day for up to 30 minutes per session, 7 days a week. The device is worn inside the middle of the mouth while the patient is relaxed.
While I did not find guideleins addressing this paticular device, other similar interventions are effective. Exercises using a therabite device or tongue blades increase mouth opening significantly (no follow-up), effect sizes (ES) 2.6 and 1.5 respectively. There is a study of this device in progress: Dynasplint Therapy for Trismus in Head and Neck Cancer (HNO 0602), NCT00507208. Standard therapy will be the use of tongue depressors. Crossover from standard therapy to DTS will be implemented if at three months there is no improvement in mouth opening when using tongue depressors.
Shulman D, Shipman B, Willis FB “Treating Trismus with Dynamic Splinting: A Case Report”
Journal of Oral Sciences. 2009; 51(1):141-144
Dijkstra PU, Kalk WWI, Roodenburg JLN. Trismus in head and neck oncology: a systematic review. Oral Oncology 2004; 40: 897-889.
Shulman D, Shipman B, Willis FB “Treating Trismus with Dynamic Splinting: a Cohort, Case Series” Advances in Therapy. 2008January; 25(1):9-16
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