For most maladies that present to my dental practice, I have something I can do to help the patient short-term. Someone breaks a tooth; I can prep it and get a provisional on it. Someone has a toothache; I can pulp it to relieve their pain. Someone has pericoronitis; I can extract the offending third molar.
The one exception to this is temporomandibular joint (TMJ) issues. Apart from some basic take-home to-dos, my patients with emergent TMJ pain don’t leave with anything substantial, and I hate that. We always perform an intraoral scan of the patient for fabrication of a nightguard, but that takes lab time. I like giving my patients something so that they can feel like their appointment will fix their discomfort. With the Speed2Treat Kit, my patients get help for their discomfort and condition while my lab fabricates their appliance.
The Speed2Treat Kit has several components. First is a QuickSplint, which we have reviewed here before. The QuickSplint is a prefabricated anterior bite plane that can be relined with PVS or bite registration. This acts as an anterior deprogrammer, which will give your patients relief while their definitive appliance is fabricated. I use QuickSplints during the provisional phase of comprehensive anterior dentistry to protect my temps from parafunctional habits. QuickSplints are great to have around the office, but pairing them with this kit is really nice.
The second part of the Speed2Treat Kit is neoprene-covered reusable hot or cold therapy packs. I routinely recommend heat therapy for my patients with facial pain. Getting more blood flow through the muscles of mastication helps carry away all of those inflammatory mediators. Giving patients an easy, reusable solution is a really nice gesture and will help their discomfort.
The Speed2Treat Kit also contains a guide to help patients through this process. Part of the guide is a pain and healing tracker. Patients can chart their symptoms and progress throughout treatment. The guide also offers resources to help patients with education, relaxation, and meditation. All of these are beneficial adjuncts in the treatment of orofacial pain.
Speed2Treat is a simple, concise kit for your patients who have emergent orofacial pain. It has filled a niche in my practice that was unoccupied. At just over $100 a kit, it is an affordable way to offer your patients a great service and product when they need you most—when they are in pain. Hard hit single to left field for Speed2Treat!
