Method: Fourteen patients (9 female, 5 male; mean: 45±10 years) who completed active periodontal therapy due to severe periodontitis were included in the study. Patients were randomly assigned to two groups to be treated with either E-glass fiber-reinforced composite splint (FCS) (Angelus, Brasil) or stainless steel wire-composite splint (WCS). Clinical periodontal parameters and periotest values were recorded at baseline and after 6 months. Patients were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire after splinting procedure.
Result: Plaque and bleeding index values decreased statistically after 6 months (p=0.02). In 6 patients (4 FCS, 2 WCS), reparable failures in the form of delamination occurred during the observation period. In four patients (3 FCS, 1 WCS) splints failed completely due debonding and/or fracture. The periotest values of the failed teeth were; 50, 50, 50 and 47.3, respectively. Although the periotest values were ≥ 40 in 3 patients in WCS and 1 patient in FCS group, no splint failures were noted. Patients reported increased chewing comfort in both splint groups.
Conclusion: Independent of the splint type, teeth with periotest values of 40 and above may suffer from mechanical complications of the splint. FCS tends to show more limitations compared to WCS.