TMD Appliance Product Guide

Dandy's TMD appliances are custom-made intraoral devices for treating TMD and TMJ (temporomandibular joint) pain. The article below will outline the types of TMD appliances Dandy offers. These appliances aim to support the TMJ and sometimes retrain muscles to avoid harmful movements. 

If you want to learn more about pricing and turnaround times, check out our TMD Appliance Pricing and Turnaround Times article. 

Anterior Deprogrammer

The anterior deprogrammer is a device that covers the entire arch and discludes the posteriors via an anterior ramp to retrain jaw muscles and prevent bruxing. The device is primarily used on the maxillary (upper) arch. 

• Pros:
  • Better protect teeth due to full arch coverage.
  • Provides greater retention than the NTI, given the full arch coverage.
• Cons
  • Due to the coverage on the posteriors, there may be some occlusion, which will interfere with retraining the jaw muscles. 

NTI

The NTI device is a small unobtrusive device on the anteriors that avoids occlusion of the posterior teeth to inhibit bruxism and relieve stress. It is important to note that the NTI device only covers teeth #7 - #10  on the maxillary (upper) arch. 

• Pros
  • Completely prevents occlusion, so it retrains the patient’s muscles not to brux at all.
• Cons
  • Given the small size, some patients may struggle with retention 

Dawson B-Splint

The Dawson B-Splint covers both arches and avoids occlusion of the posteriors to inhibit bruxism and relieve stress while allowing horizontal movement. 

• Pros
  • Provides coverage of both the upper and lower arches, providing complete protection.
  • Facilitates and supports lateral and excursive movements.
• Cons
  • It does not retrain the patients’ muscles, which is often the root cause of their pain. 

Gelb Appliance

The Gelb Appliance sits on the posteriors and repositions the mandible to control the jaw's positioning and avoid excess force. In addition to controlling the jaw's positioning, it also maintains the mandible arch shape. It also brings the condyle into a more anterior position, resulting in an inferior position in the fossa, and increases the vertical opening, which can relieve pain. 

• Pros
  • Provides complete protection for the posteriors.
  • Allows for more tongue space by cutting away the anterior coverage.
    • This benefits patients who snore, have sleep apnea, and/or have a large tongue.
• Cons
  • It does not retrain the patients’ muscles, which is often the root cause of their pain.

Choosing the Correct Device

If you need support choosing the correct TMD appliance, check out our Choosing the Correct TMD Appliance for Your Patient article.