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The purpose of this study is to assess what impact shortening disclusion time to less than .5 seconds during right and left mandibular excursions has on myofascial pain(s) symptoms present in a dental student population. Twenty-five dental students, who exhibited symptomatology consistent with myofascial pains patient, were divided into a treatment, control, and an untreated group. They participated in an occlusal adjustment study which measured changes in disclusion time, as well as, myofascial pains muscular symptom remissions resultant from treatment. The treated group of ten subjects received ICAGD occlusal adjustments to shorten their disclusion time to less than .5 seconds per mandibular excursion. The goal of this therapy was to totally disclude the posterior teeth in a measurable time frame of .5 seconds or less. The control group of eight subjects received mock ICAGD with tooth polishing. The goal of this therapy was to simulate ICAGD adjustments for possible placebo effect on symptom remissions. The untreated group had their disclusion times measured but received no treatment to adjust, or to simulate adjustment to their occlusion. The goal of analyzing an untreated group was to attempt to show that mock treatment (performed on the control subjects), or no treatment (performed on the untreated subjects), resulted in no measurable change in the disclusion time in either of these two subject groups. Each subject was recalled for disclusion time measurement four to five times in a one-year period of observation, at which time, they were required to report their myofascial pains symptom status by answering an ordinal scale questionnaire. The results suggest that shortening disclusion time to less than .5 seconds per mandibular excursion can induce remissions of many muscular myofascial pains symptoms. Additionally, mock ICAGD occlusal adjustments did not appear to be a factor in the control subjects treatment response, as this group showed no statistically significant symptom remissions.

A recall study of 102 myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome-temporomandibular disorder (MPDS-TMD) patients, treated with disclusion time reduction therapy from 1983 to 1991, was undertaken to determine the long-term results of this treatment on symptom reductions. The patients were asked to fill out a symptom questionnaire which used ordinal number scales to determine their disease status (frequency and intensity of muscular, joint and dysfunctional symptoms; frequency of medication and appliance use) before and after they were treated with disclusion time reduction. The statistical results indicate that discluson time reduction therapy is a highly effective treatment regimen for MPDS and that it has lasting effects on symptom reduction. In addition, the results of this recall study indicate that occlusion, and more specifically, lengthy pretreatment disclusion time, does play a primary role in the symptomatology, and most probably, in the etiology of MPDS and TMD.

Traditional occlusal equilibration has been advocated by numerous authors as a treatment modality for chronic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome. However, treatment predictability and reliable clinical success has not been reported by all authors. Some report no correlation between occlusal contacts and chronic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome. Recent publications and manuscripts have described a new occlusal adjustment technique which is aimed at reducing lengthy pretreatment disclusion time in mandibular excursions. This reduction in disclusion time physiologically and rapidly reduces contractile muscle activity in the masseter and temporalis muscles, which leads to the resolution of numerous chronic myofascial pain dysfunction syndrome (MPDS) symptoms. This new occlusal adjustment process is known as Immediate Complete Anterior Guidance Development (ICAGD). The purpose of this article is to describe the important differences in focus, sequence, and theory between traditional occlusal equilibration and ICAGD.