The dentist is faced with the manifestation of various diseases that go beyond his competence, but often cause pathological processes in the oral cavity. For example, Tourette's syndrome can cause anxiety, depression and low self-esteem, and in some cases lead to lesions in the mouth. Japanese researchers have developed a removable dental mouthguard that, when worn, reduces the frequency of involuntary tics in adults and children suffering from the disease.
Tourette's syndrome is characterized by multiple repetitive movements or vocal tics. These symptoms disrupt the patient’s everyday life and self-esteem. The syndrome cannot be treated, but there are several methods that relieve the severity of symptoms if you practice for a long time.
The author of the work, Dr. Jampei Murakami from Osaka University, spoke about the development: “When the patient bites the mouthguard between the teeth, there is a decrease in vocal and motor tics in 10 out of 14 children and 6 out of 8 adults who took part in the work. It is noteworthy that this method has a cumulative effect. A steady decrease in the number and severity of motor tics after 100 days of wearing the mouthguard was observed in those patients who developed the syndrome at an early age.”
Researchers have developed a mouthguard that looks like a mouth guard for the treatment of temporomandibular joint dysfunction syndrome. The mouthguard is secured to the molars, bringing the jaw into a position that aligns the lines of the nose, lips and chin. The authors believe that when the mouthguard is bitten in the mouth, tics decrease due to sensory techniques. Sensory techniques are intentional movements, such as touching various points on the face or head, that reduce the occurrence of uncontrollable tics.
“In a paper on the benefits of sensory techniques for neck muscle dysfunction, it was shown that wearing a dental guard changes proprioceptive signals, that is, those associated with sensory nerve endings,” says co-author of the paper, Dr. Yoshihisa Tashibana from the University Kobe.
To prove the effectiveness of the mouth guard, a large-scale clinical trial must be conducted. However, scientists are confident that the device has clear therapeutic potential to improve the quality of life of patients with Tourette syndrome.