Teeth splinting

Teeth splinting involves performing medical procedures aimed at stabilizing teeth to prevent their movement and displacement. The first thing to understand: teeth splinting is always a temporary measure.

In dentistry, teeth splinting may be used in the following cases:

• after injury.

Most often, teeth splinting is performed for immobilization of teeth in case of injuries. The list of injuries can be quite long: fractures of the crown part of teeth, tooth dislocations, jaw fractures, various facial injuries, etc.;

• after surgical intervention.

In some cases, splinting is used after surgical intervention (tooth extraction, implantation) to stabilize adjacent teeth or temporarily fix them before prosthetic installation;

• before treatment.

Teeth splinting is sometimes used at a preliminary treatment stage when it is necessary to stabilize teeth that have become mobile due to periodontal diseases.

In the most general form, the teeth splinting process can be described as follows:

1. Preparation (the doctor examines the teeth and studies the X-ray).
2. Method and material selection (determined by the nature of injuries and individual clinical picture).
3. Surface preparation (involves cleaning, and in some cases, removal of damaged tissues).
4. Installation of the fixing structure or application of materials.
5. Fixation (may include polymerization, use of fasteners or adhesive).
6. Verification.
7. Further treatment (teeth splinting is a temporary measure and may be supplemented by further treatment: tooth restoration, prosthetics, or surgical intervention).

Direct splinting involves applying special splinting materials (such as adhesive tapes and composite resins) directly to the damaged teeth. This method is used for various tooth injuries (e.g., dislocation) when temporary fixation is needed to stabilize the tooth in the bone.

The following techniques belong to direct splinting:

• Lukashevich technique.

Involves using metal wire attached to immobile healthy patient teeth, forming a frame. Then composite material is applied to stabilize the damaged tooth;

• Bondel technique.

Involves using adhesive materials first to ensure tissue bonding with composite material from which the stabilization splint is modeled;

• Mett technique.

Based on using special metal or fiberglass splints fixed to damaged teeth with composite material or adhesive;

• Rowen technique.

This method involves using a metal or acrylic splint fixed to adjacent teeth on both sides of the damaged tooth for stability;

• Ivy splinting technique.

The essence of this technique is using metal wire bent into a loop shape (“ivy”). The wire is attached to teeth on both sides of the damaged tooth.

Indirect splinting involves using special structures installed on teeth adjacent to the damaged one. Used for complex injuries when additional support is needed.

Indirect splinting can be performed using the Taylor technique, which involves laboratory fabrication of a metal or acrylic splint based on individual impressions and subsequent fixation on teeth adjacent to the damaged one.

Combined or mixed splinting involves simultaneous use of both structures and splinting material. Used for complex combined injuries involving, for example, crown fracture and tooth displacement. The combined approach allows the doctor to use advantages of both direct and indirect splinting depending on the individual clinical picture.

Combined splinting is often performed using the composite splint technique (can also be applied in other types of splinting). When using this technique, splints for tooth stabilization are created directly from composite material and have a high degree of individualization and adaptation to the anatomical features of each tooth.

In some cases, teeth splinting can be used as one of the stages of treating arthritis or arthrosis of the temporomandibular joint. In such cases, splinting is necessary to relieve joint stress and reduce pain. However, teeth splinting alone will not be a comprehensive treatment measure and can only be one of the stages followed by orthodontic treatment or dental prosthetics.

A number of dental clinics in Kyiv offer teeth splinting as one of the methods for treating periodontitis. The logic is to immobilize teeth that have become mobile due to periodontal diseases. At “Osadchyi Dental Clinic,” periodontal teeth splinting is not performed.

“If we are talking about splinting teeth that are mobile due to periodontal disease and bone destruction, we do not use such splinting and strongly do not recommend it. The fact is that in such cases, splinting can only be a method of fixation, not treatment. Immobilizing teeth for further treatment makes sense, but stabilizing teeth with periodontal damage instead of treatment is not only useless but dangerous. The harm of such teeth splinting is hard to overestimate, as it can lead to complete tooth loss,” insists the chief doctor of “Osadchyi Dental Clinic,” Igor Oleksandrovych.

Since splinting is always part of comprehensive treatment, the cost of teeth splinting is usually included in the total cost. However, in some Kyiv clinics, the price of teeth splinting is specified and, depending on the technique and scope, can range from 1.5 to 3.5–4 thousand hryvnias. The average price of teeth splinting across Ukraine is 200 to 1,000 hryvnias per tooth. It should also be noted that indirect splinting usually has a higher price as it involves fabrication of individual splints.