Performance, balance and posture variations with Occlusal Splint and Taopatch® devices: a retrospettive cross-over study

Occlusal Splints and Exercise Performance: A Systematic Review of Current Evidence

“…A total of 17 studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the current systematic review [ 4 , 5 , 15 , 18 , 22 , 23 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. The predefined search strategy yielded a preliminary pool of 587 possible papers, screened following the steps described by the PRISMA model, and with the protocol approved by all the authors before launching the predefined search ( Figure 2 ) [ 29 ].…”

“…The analysis of the OS devices’ characteristics revealed two main broad categories in which the OS can be grouped: (1) custom-made [ 4 , 5 , 15 , 18 , 22 , 23 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ] and (2) commercial products [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 39 , 40 ] ( Table 2 ). If for the commercial OS the personalization is limited (e.g., boil and bite OS) [ 38 ] or not possible (e.g., self-fit OS) [ 30 ], the custom-made splints can be tailored specifically on subjects’ mouth characteristics through dental impression stone or wax models (see, e.g., in [ 15 , 23 ]), semi-adjustable articulators (see, e.g., in [ 39 ]), or by digital reading models (see, e.g., in [ 18 ]). Five studies compared the impact of custom-made vs. commercial OS [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 39 , 40 ].…”

“…The experimental conditions in which the OS were applied, differed according to the jaw position: 64.7% upper jaw [ 4 , 18 , 22 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 38 , 39 , 40 ], and 35.3% lower jaw [ 5 , 15 , 22 , 34 , 35 , 36 ] ( Table 2 ). It was possible to observe how 83.3% of the studies in which the OS was positioned in the lower jaw reported a significant improvement in at least one of the analyzed performance markers [ 5 , 15 , 23 , 35 , 37 ], while on the other side, 54.5% of the studies with the OS positioned in the lower jaw reported a significant improvement in one of the investigated parameters [ 4 , 18 , 32 , 38 , 39 , 40 ]. However, no study compared the possible impact of lower or upper jaw OS applications.…”

“…However, no study compared the possible impact of lower or upper jaw OS applications. In addition, we observed how in all the studies in which the OS has been positioned in the lower jaw the splints were custom-made [ 5 , 15 , 23 , 35 , 36 , 37 ], while for upper jaw OS it has been used both commercial [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 39 , 40 ], and custom-made splints [ 4 , 18 , 22 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 39 , 40 ], with different studies applying, and comparing the two categories of OS [ 31 , 32 , 33 , 39 , 40 ]. Taken together, from the present systematic analysis emerged the wide heterogenicity of the experimental conditions in which the impact of the OS has been investigated, including both intrinsic characteristics of the splints and its anatomical applications.…”

Taopatch® combined with home-based training protocol to prevent sedentary lifestyle and biochemical changes in MS patients during COVID-19 pandemic

“…[9][10][11][12] Although the use of nanotechnological devices is growing in different healthcare application, only a few research groups have studied the role of a nanotechnological device on physical features. 13 A medical device, recently developed, that uses nanotechnology is the Taopatch ® (Tao Technologies, Italy). This device acts through light therapy thanks to the use of quantum dots.…”