WHAT IS A MUSCLE RELAXANT?
The muscle relaxant is a medical device included in the MFS line of health aid products. The device may be used alone or in combination with the bite plane.
The muscle relaxant has been especially designed to perform various functions in the mouth:
- It relaxes the masticatory muscles through the action of its lateral discs, which are vertically elevated to keep the mouth half open and the masseter muscle stretched and with less tone.
- It relaxes the buccinator muscle by pushing the cheeks outwards.
- It relaxes the orbicular muscles of the mouth by pushing the lips forward.
INDICATIONS
The muscle relaxant is especially indicated for patients with intense muscle contraction (brachycephalic) and in subject with peribuccal muscle contractions. Only a licensed dentist may perform a complete evaluation of each case history and prescribe the use of this device, whether it is used alone or in combination with other devices.
Patients with intense muscle contraction (brachycephalic)
Patients with tight lip muscles
Patients with extremely tense perioral muscles
WHEN AND HOW TO USE A MUSCLE RELAXANT?
Guidelines to ensure that the muscle relaxant is correctly used:
1. The dental arch perimeter between the first permanent molars measurement is taken from the patient’s mouth or from the mold of the patient’s dental configuration.
2.The adequate muscle relaxant size is chosen based on this measurement. In case of doubt, select a smaller device than your measured size.
3. This medical device must be placed in the patient’s buccal vestibule, outside the dental arches.
4. A night-time regimen is indicated, although the patient may start wearing the muscle relaxant during daytime, to get used to the device.
SIZES
The muscle relaxant comes in six sizes, numbered from one to six. The smaller sizes are used in the pediatric population, while the larger sizes have been designed for use in adult patients.
The dental arch perimeter between the first permanent superior molars measurement is taken from the patient’s mouth and the adequate device size is chosen based on this measurement.
The device acts by applying a gentle pressure to the cheek area and along the lips to relax perioral muscles. This is the reason why it is important to ensure that the correct muscle relaxant size is being used.
OBSERVATIONS
This device may be used alone or in combination with the bite plane. The first option is useful for patients with moderately intense muscle contraction, whereas the second option is more suitable for patients presenting with extreme muscular contraction patterns and for patients with bruxism.
This device may be used in combination with fixed orth-odontic appliances.