Objective

To evaluate the effects of the application of an intraoral device for permanent use on the behavior of condyles with condylar hyperplasia (CH) confirmed by single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), establishing a comparison with a group of patients with CH that did not use the device.

Materials and methods

Thirty patients with an average age of 21.7 years (+/-5.56) with CH confirmed by SPECT were randomly divided into two groups: the ones in group I (n=18) received an intraoral device for permanent use to align the mandible, while those in group II (n=12) did not get any device. Pain, midline shift, maximum opening, and discomfort were evaluated at the beginning of the study and at 2, 4, 6, 10, 12, and 14 months. At an average of 19 months, osteoblastic activity (AO) was reassessed by SPECT.

Results

In group I, the AO in the coronal and transverse sections ceased or decreased (p<0.001) in comparison to the initial condition, while in group II the AO increased (p<0.001). The data was analyzed by the Wilcoxon signed rank test. Adjusting a robust ANCOVA model using the initial value as a covariate made it possible to observe that the effect of the group was statistically significant in both cuts (p<0.001).

Conclusions

The application of an intraoral device for permanent use improves the evolution of condylar hyperplasia, which can make it a useful treatment until a high condylectomy of the neck of the condyle is performed, or even to avoid this procedure.