Disc dislocation without reduction, as known as closed lock, is a clinical condition in which the disc is dislocated from the condyle and does not return to normal position during condylar movement When the condition of disc dislocation without reduction is acute, the initial therapy should include an attempt to reduce or recapture the disc by manual manipulation. When patients report a history of being locked for 1 week or less, manual manipulation is usually successful. In patients with a longer history, success rate tends to decrease rapidly.
If the disc has been successfully recaptured, placing an anterior positioning appliance is recommended to prevent clenching on the posterior teeth, which would likely redislocated the disc. But it is hard to make an appliance immediately in the clinic because it takes too much time. And making an appliance using self-curing acrylic resin is not very popular because of its discomfort by odor and working time. Also, if the patient has resin allergy or is under orthodontic treatment, or if it is impossible to control behavior of the patient, it has been restricted to make an appliance immediately. Therefore, to supplement this disadvantages, we tried to confirm about successful short term use of temporary anterior positioning splint made by using putty impression material after manual manipulation in this study.