What is ULF – TENS

Masticatory muscle hyperactivity has been considered a significant factor in promoting and perpetuating dysfunctional symptoms observed in Temporomandibular Disorder patients. Many therapeutic modalities have evolved within Dental Medicine that attempt to lessen or resolve the varying symptoms frequently reported by dysfunctional patients. One such method, known as Ultra Low Frequency (ULF) Transcutaneous Electrical Neural Stimulation (TENS), has been used to relax the masticatory musculature by applying an electrical stimulus to the efferent motor fibers of the Vth and VIIth cranial nerves, such that TENS can result in pain analgesia and patient sedation, restore compromised muscle physiology, and increase muscle resting length. TENS also aids in establishing a neuromuscular maxillomandibular relationship by inducing a muscularly contracted involuntary arc of closure. This chapter discusses TENS as a treatment modality for Temporomandibular Disorders, explains how to employ TENS to obtain a neuromuscular maxillomandibular relationship, and illustrates in a Clinical Case Report the use of TENS in combination with the T-Scan Computerized Occlusal Analysis System to measurably and physiologically balance a removable overlay anatomical acetyl resin orthotic prosthesis.