Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Introduction: Systemic sclerosis SSc is a severe chronic connective tissue disease with a high disease burden.
Oral involvement with impaired oral aperture microstomia is frequent and associated with impaired food intake, oral hygiene and secondary dental problems. The efficacy of nonsurgical management of microstomia is unknown. Material and Methods: This explorative study assesses the effectiveness and feasibility of two different exercise approaches designed to increase oral aperture. Group A exercised with a passive jaw motion device Therabite , and Group B did mouth-stretching exercises.
Patients were contacted 4 times by telephone to address encountered problems. The subjects used an exercise diary to document compliance. Patients were evaluated at baseline, 3 months period without intervention , 6 months at the end of the treatment after 3 months of intervention and 9 months follow-up.
At the end of the study an individual qualitative interview is planned. In the Therabite group, after 3 months of exercise, increase of oral aperture was 10, 12, 10, and 2 mm. In the mouth-stretching exercise group the increase of oral aperture was 9, 9 and 4 mm after 3 months. Conclusions: An increase of oral aperture is observed in all patients after 3 months of exercising with the Therabite device as well as after mouth-stretching exercises.
No clear differences are observed between both groups, but the study was not designed nor powered for this. Remarkably, a high compliance for the treatment regime was observed in most patients.
