Background: Many researchers have not accepted the use of occlusal treatments for temporomandibular disorders
(TMDs). However, a recent report described a discrepancy between the habitual occlusal position (HOP) and the
bite plate-induced occlusal position (BPOP) and discussed the relation of this discrepancy to TMD. Therefore, the
treatment outcome of evidence-based occlusal adjustments using the bite plate-induced occlusal position (BPOP)
as a muscular reference position should be evaluated in patients with TMD.
Methods: The BPOP was defined as the position at which a patient voluntarily closed his or her mouth while
sitting in an upright posture after wearing an anterior flat bite plate for 5 minutes and then removing the plate.Twenty-one patients with TMDs underwent occlusal adjustment using the BPOP. The occlusal adjustments were continued until bilateral occlusal contacts were obtained in the BPOP. The treatment outcomes were evaluated using the subjective dysfunction index (SDI) and the Helkimo Clinical Dysfunction Index (CDI) before and after the occlusal adjustments; the changes in these two indices between the first examination and a one-year follow-up examination were then analyzed. In addition, the difference between the HOP and the BPOP was threedimensionally measured before and after the treatment.
Results: The percentage of symptom-free patients after treatment was 86% according to the SDI and 76%
according to the CDI. The changes in the two indices after treatment
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