Bruxism minimizing gradual changes to the positions of the teeth, preventing tooth damage and revealing the extent and patterns of bruxism through examination of the markings on the splint's surface. A dental guard is typically worn during every night's sleep on a long-term basis. However, a meta-analysis of occlusal splints (dental guards) used for this purpose concluded "There is not enough evidence to state that the occlusal splint is effective for treating sleep bruxism." A "repositioning splint" is designed to change the patient's occlusion, or bite. The efficacy of such devices is debated. Some writers propose that irreversible complications can result
Habitual be the introduction, and subsequent loss of habitual "do (be)" in America, which was also the problem with the first expansion of the diffusion hypothesis. Another hypothesis for the origins of habitual "be" in NWBE and afterwards into AAE is the most logical and the strongest of the lot. The decreolization theory for the emergence of habitual "be" in AAE is the most likely and most supported of the theories of its origin. It involves the decreolization process of Caribbean English creole, with the loss of "does (be)", which itself is a decreolization of a previous creole habitual marker and its