ObjectiveThis study aimed to explore the clinical efficacy of stabilization splint (SS) and the characteristics of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) imaging changes by analyzing the CBCT images and clinical symptoms of patients with temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis (TMJOA) complicated with chewing side preference before and after treatment with SS. Me⁃thods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 74 TMJOA patients (aged 18-40 years) who visited the Department of Stomatology, First Medical Center, Chinese PLA General Hospital from June 2021 to January 2025. Among them, 31 patients had no chewing side preference (mean age: 29.81±2.99 years), and 43 patients had chewing side preference (mean age: 30.88±5.65 years). The CBCT imaging features and clinical symptoms of the two groups at the initial visit and follow-up (6 months later) were observed and analyzed. SPSS 27.0 software was used for data analysis.ResultsComparison of patients without chewing side preference before and after SS treatment: the incidence of pain decreased from 100% to 3.23%, limited mouth opening from 96.77% to 3.23%, and joint noise from 80.65% to 38.71%, with statistically significant differences (P<0 .05). cbct showed that the ipsilateral posterior joint space and superior joint space increased significantly (P<0 .05), whereas no significant differences were observed in the temporomandibular joint (tmj) indices between the two sides (P>0.05). Comparison of patients with chewing side preference before and after SS treatment: the incidence of pain decreased from 100% to 4.65%, limited mouth opening from 88.37% to 2.33%, and joint noise from 79.07% to 39.53%, with statistically significant differences (P<0 .05). cbct showed that the medial-lateral diameter of the condyle, anterior-posterior diameter of the condyle, intra-articular space, posterior joint space, superior joint space, slope of the articular eminence, and condylar height on the habitual chewing side increased significantly (P<0 .05). moreover, the medial-lateral diameter of the condyle, anterior-posterior diameter of the condyle, intra-articular space, posterior joint space, and superior joint space on the non-habitual chewing side increased significantly (P<0 .05). the posterior joint space, intra-articular space, and condylar height on the habitual chewing side were significantly larger than those on the non-habitual chewing side (P<0 .05). comparison between patients with and without chewing side preference after ss treatment: no significant differences were found in pain, limited mouth opening, and joint noise between the two groups (P>0.05).ConclusionSS is effective in treating patients suffering from TMJOA with or without chewing side preference because it can effectively relieve joint pain, significantly improve mouth opening, and reduce the incidence of joint noise to a certain extent. Chewing side preference is closely related to the progression of TMJOA. Patients with TMJOA are recommended to receive early intervention with SS treatment, which is particularly important for those cases complicated with chewing side preference.
