Objectives: Although there is a controversy exists with regard to the effects of occlusal splints on bruxism, various types of splints are used. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of splint designs on nocturnal bruxism. Methods: Two appliance designs were employed, i.e., stabilization splint (S splint), which covers the occlusal surfaces of the maxillary dental arch, and palatal splint (P splint), which does not cover the maxillary teeth so as not to change occlusal contacts. Eight bruxers confirmed by recording nocturnal masseter muscle activities were randomly divided into S splint and P splint groups. The subjects were instructed to wear the splint during sleep for 6 weeks. Nocturnal masseter muscle activity during sleep was measured by the portable electromyographic (EMG) analyzing system for 3 nights each in the following 5 experimental periods: before, immediately after, and 2-, 4- and 6-weeks after the insertion of the splint. The number of bruxism events (EVENT), total duration (DURATION) and total EMG activity (AREA) were calculated for each night, and then submitted to the data analysis. Results: Both types of splints significantly reduced total EMG activity (AREA) immediately after the insertion (repeated measures ANOVA, without interaction, p<0.05). S splints significantly reduced EMG activity (EVENT and DURATION) for 2 weeks after the insertion (one-way ANOVA, p<0.05). Conclusion: The results suggest that both types of splint have some effects in reducing nocturnal masseter muscle activity during sleep. S splints have effects only for 2 weeks, but this effect did not continue throughout the experimental period for 6 weeks.

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