Objective: Recent research has focused on the applicability of titanium particle-impregnated materials in healthcare and medical products. This preliminary study was undertaken to investigate the effect of water-soluble titanium microparticle-permeated (WSTi) tape on temporomandibular disorder (TMD)-related pain.
Materials and methods: The study included 32 patients (41.5 ± 14.4 years, 26 women) who had visited the Temporomandibular Joint Clinic, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, for treatment of TMD-related pain. The subjects were instructed to apply the WSTi tape (AquaTitan tape) on the most painful area before going to sleep and remove the tape on awakening daily for 2 weeks. Seven outcome variables were statistically analyzed: maximum mouth-opening ranges with and without pain, spontaneous pain intensity, mouth-opening pain intensity, chewing pain intensity, TMD-related limitation of daily functions (LDF-TMD) and subjective evaluation of any change in TMD-related pain.
Results: The mean maximum mouth-opening ranges with (p = 0.011) and without (p = 0.002) pain were significantly greater and mean pain intensities on mouth opening (p < 0.001) and chewing (p = 0.001) were significantly lower at the 2-week follow-up than at the baseline. The mean LDF-TMDQ scores were also significantly lower at the 2-week follow-up (p = 0.004). After 2 weeks of using the WSTi tape, 53.1% and 12.5% of the subjects reported a slight improvement and an improvement, respectively, in TMD-related pain.
Conclusion: WSTi tape seems to have beneficial effects on TMD-related pain and LDF.
Keywords: analgesia; temporomandibular disorders; visual analog pain scale; water-soluble titanium.