Objective: To evaluate tension-type headache before and after treatment with a stabilisation and a control appliance both in a short and a long-term perspective.

Methods: 60 patients with TMD of mainly myogenous origin were studied. The patients were selected from those referred to the Department of Stomatognathic Physiology, Faculty of Odontology, Malmö University during a period of approximately 2 years. The study was performed as a randomised controlled trial evaluating the treatment effect on tension-type headache after 10 weeks, 6 and 12 months. The patients were randomly assigned to at treatment (T) group, given a stabilisation appliance and a control (C) group, given a control appliance. Patients who reported a negative treatment outcome of overall subjective symptoms, had any discomfort associated with the appliances, or both at the 10 weeks follow-up either had their appliance readjusted (1 patient from the T-group) or were given another appliance (17 patients from the C-group) creating a mixed M-group.

Results: At start of the study 88 % of all patients reported a frequency of headache from rarely up top daily. In the T-group 73% and in the C-group 70% of the patients reported headache at least once a week or more before treatment. At the 10-weeks follow-up, a statistically significant improvement of reported tension-type headache between T and C-group and within T-group regarding frequency of headache was found. The number of patients with headache once a week or more decreased significantly in the T-group at the 6- months as well as the 12 months follow-ups.

Conclusion: The stabilisation appliance seems to have a positive effect on tension-type headache both in a short and a long-term perspective in patients with TMD of mainly myogenous origin.

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