Although bruxism, also known as teeth clenching or grinding, is no longer considered a disorder or disease entity per se, the excessive masticatory muscle activity and increased and prolonged tooth contact associated with it can lead to serious orofacial health problems. In addition, bruxism activity can indicate general illnesses such as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In dentistry in the past, localized damage to teeth and dental restorations, abnormal tooth wear, and/or painful temporomandibular disorders (TMD) have been the main reasons for retrospectively looking for evidence of bruxism in the patient’s history and dental examinations. According to the recommendations of the current version of the “S3 Guideline: Diagnosis and Treatment of Bruxism”, published by the German Society of Dentistry and Oral Medicine (DGZMK), the signs and symptoms of current bruxism should be recorded prospectively, e.g., during the initial dental examination or before restorative treatment, to allow appropriate preventive or curative treatment planning and the identification of possible comorbidities. Here, we describe a screening instrument for awake and sleep bruxism that was developed by a working group commissioned by the board of the German Society for Craniomandibular Function and Disorders (DGFDT) based on current recommendations in the literature. Keywords: bruxism, diagnosis, screening, TMDs

Objectives: The centric relation (CR) before and after a single physiotherapy session in patients with myalgia and controls without craniomandibular disorders (CMD) was compared using a controlled clinical trial. Materials and methods: Twenty-two patients diagnosed with myalgia according to the Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorders were included. Five controls showed no symptoms of CMD. All participants were seated on an Orthas chair. The CR was determined with an intraoral process registration (IPR) electronic central bearing device using three methods: a) The adduction point before deprogramming (AP); b) The adduction point after deprogramming by movements on the registration sensor (APD); and c) The manually (hand-)guided centric relation (CRM). Immediately after the first IPR, the participants underwent a physiotherapy session, followed by a second IPR. Cronbach’s α was used as a measurement for internal consistency to evaluate the repeatability of the IPR and the registration methods. The t test was used to analyze the measurable differences between the CR positions of the patients with myalgia and the controls without CMD before and after physiotherapy. Physiotherapy included manual techniques such as massage; stretching; and mobilization of the soft tissue, the temporomandibular joint, and the upper cervical joints. Results: The internal consistency of all CR methods varied from acceptable for APD (0.65 ≤ α ≤ 0.99) to excellent for AD and CRM (0.79 ≤ α ≤ 0.99). The CR position did not differ significantly in patients before and after physiotherapy (P > 0.05). In controls without CMD, the APD after physiotherapy was significantly more anterior (P = 0.001). Conclusion: A single physiotherapy session could not change the CR in patients with myalgia. Keywords: maxillomandibular relation, relaxation, manual therapy, IPR, Gothic arch, deprogramming

Background: The number of occlusal contacts per tooth, reproducibility, and repeated usage of the digital T-Scan III System (TS) with Sensor foil (SF) are compared in vivo with Hanel foil (HF). Materials and methods: The static occlusion of 20 volunteers (average age: 25 years) with complete natural dentition without reconstructions or temporomandibular disorders (TMDs) was tested using HF, and compared with those tested using TS (with SF). To test intraexaminer reliability, the contacts by the TS and HF were evaluated twice, with an interval of 6 months. Reproducibility was tested by using five different HFs or SFs in two volunteers. For the TS stress test, one foil was used twice in three volunteers. Results: Intraexaminer reliability was excellent. Overall, HF showed significantly more contacts (P = 0.001), especially in posterior teeth (P = 0.002); SF revealed significantly more contacts in anterior teeth (P = 0.003). Repeated assignment of occlusal contacts was reliable for HF but not for SF. The number of contacts was significantly less in the second usage of the same SF (P = 0.001). Conclusion: SF should not be used for occlusal analysis or occlusal adjustment. Keywords: occlusion, T-Scan, Hanel foil (HF), Sensor foil (SF), occlusal analysis, occlusal equilibration, occlusal indicator

Bruxismus, vor allem die Formen, die mit Reiben und Knirschen auf den Zähnen verbunden sind, stellen sowohl ein hohes Risiko für den Verlust von Zahnhartsubstanz dar als auch ein höheres Risiko für das technische und biologische Versagen zahnärztlicher Rekonstruktionen. Trotz bekanntem Risiko bestehen einheitliche Gewährleistungsregelungen für alle Patienten.

Craniomandibular function is an interdisciplinary area of study designed to provide students with a good knowledge of complex physiological, pathophysiological, and medical principles as well as knowledge and proficiency in the use of articulators and in the simulation of mandibular movements. Due to changes to Germany's Dental Licensure Act (AOZ), preclinical dental technology-related course contents will be cut back in the near future. The German Society of Craniomandibular Function and Disorders (DGFDT) therefore launched a consensus-building process in collaboration with representatives of the prosthodontic faculties of German universities with the aim of elaborating a list of essential Craniomandibular Function-Based Learning Objectives (CFLO) and competence levels for preclinical and clinical dental education. The National Competence-Based Learning Objectives for Dental Education (NCLO) should be revised to include the consensus-based CFLO. Keywords: learning objectives, craniomandibular function and therapy, occlusion, dental education

Viele Unklarheiten und wenig sichere Erkenntnis – Bruxismus gehört zu den zahnmedizinischen Themen, über die wir immer noch schmerzhaft wenig wissen. Die erste S3-Leitlinie zur Diagnostik und Behandlung von Bruxismus fasst den vorhandenen Wissensstand zusammen, schafft zu zentralen Fragen wie dem Krankheitsverständnis Klarheit und gibt Zahnärzten evidenzbasierte Handlungs-empfehlungen, die eine Vernachlässigung und eine Übertherapie vermeiden helfen.