## 4 Discussion  
The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of an occlusal splint intervention on TMDs and overall well-being in five specific groups: (1) patients with awake bruxism and fibromyalgiaalgia, (2) patients with sleep bruxism and fibromyalgia, (3) patients with awake bruxism without fibromyalgia, (4) patients with sleep bruxism without fibromyalgia, and (5) a group of healthy individuals without bruxism or fibromyalgia. The variables analyzed included measures of mandibular function, anxiety, oral health, well-being, sleep quality, and specific TMJ symptoms, such as joint noises, and temporomandibular pain. The occlusal splint intervention resulted in significant positive effects in ABFB, SBFB, ABG, and SBG. While HG also showed improvements after treatment, these were less pronounced compared to the other groups. The findings of this study suggest that occlusal splints may contribute to improvements in TMD symptoms and psychological well-being in patients \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c} \hline
**Group** & **Variable** & **Pre** & **Post** & **\(p\)** \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Awake bruxism with fibromyalgiagia} & Joint sounds & 23 (62.2\%) & 21 (56.8\%) & 0.63 \\  & TMJ pain & 37 (100\%) & 22 (59.5\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to TMJ & 37 (100\%) & 24 (64.9\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to bruxism & 36 (97.3\%) & 35 (94.6\%) & 1.00 \\  & Jaw locking & 17 (45.9\%) & 1 (2.7\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Sleep bruxism with fibromyalgiagia} & Joint sounds & 35 (66\%) & 30 (56.6\%) & 0.13 \\  & TMJ pain & 53 (100\%) & 27 (50.9\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to TMJ & 52 (98.1\%) & 31 (58.5\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to bruxism & 52 (98.1\%) & 47 (28.7\%) & 0.13 \\  & Jaw locking & 24 (45.3\%) & 1 (1.9\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Awake bruxism without fibromyalgiagia} & Joint sounds & 22 (48.89\%) & 15 (33.3\%) & 0.02 \\  & TMJ pain & 37 (82.2\%) & 20 (44.44\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to TMJ & 39 (86.67\%) & 19 (42.22\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to bruxism & 35 (77.77\%) & 26 (57.68\%) & 0.01 \\  & Jaw locking & 13 (28.89\%) & 1 (0.02\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Sleep bruxism without fibromyalgiagia} & Joint sounds & 43 (50.6\%) & 23 (27.1\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & TMJ pain & 67 (78.8\%) & 18 (21.2\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to TMJ & 68 (80\%) & 22 (25.9\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to bruxism & 74 (87.11\%) & 29 (34.1\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Jaw locking & 18 (21.2\%) & 1 (1.2\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\ \hline \multirow{4}{*}{Healthy group} & Joint sounds & 12 (26.1\%) & 10 (21.7\%) & 0.63 \\  & TMJ pain & 18 (39.1\%) & 7 (15.2\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to TMJ & 26 (56.5\%) & 10 (21.7\%) & \textless{}0.001 \\  & Headache attributed to bruxism & 17 (37.0\%) & 12 (26.1\%) & 0.33 \\  & Jaw locking & 8 (17.4\%) & 0 (0.0\%) & 0.01 \\ \hline \end{tabular}
**Note:** TMJ = temporomandibular joint.  
\end{table} 
Table 2: Frequency (count, n) and prevalence (%) of temporomandibular disorders and well-being pre- and post-ocolusal splint intervention. with bruxism and fibromyalgiagia. However, given the study design, these results should be interpreted with caution. The observed benefits may be partially explained by other factors such as behavioral counseling and patient expectations. Firstly, in the ABFB group, the occlusal splint intervention showed significant improvement in multiple TMD-related symptoms, including TMJ pain, joint noises, mandibular locking, and reductions in JFLS-8 scores. These results suggest that the use of splints may alleviate the overload on the TMJ in patients exhibiting both bruxism and fibromyalgiagia.