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 A bite-splint is an appliance that is used by a person who grinds or clenches his/her teeth during sleep. A patient who has a habit of either grinding or clenching may have premature teeth wear, cracked teeth and may experience frequent "tension" headaches. The bite-splint will provide an ideal bite which will relax the muscles around the jaw, protect the teeth and greatly reduce the intensity or eliminate the patient's symptoms.
An NTI is a small guard which fits over the front teeth only. It accomplishes the same goal as the bite-splint, through a different mechanism. By distributing the biting pressure to the front teeth only (the region protected by the guard), the NTI triggers an inhibitory reflex which limits the intensity of this destructive grinding or clenching by as much as 77%.
Typically an NTI would be used for diagnosis and short term relief, while a full bite-splint would be a more appropriate long term treatment. The reason for this is that a NTI is less expensive, more simple and faster to fabricate (only one visit is needed), while a bite-splint does a better job of supporting the dental arch and provide a more uniform and therapeutic biting surface for the opposing teeth.
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