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Exp Brain Res (2015) 233:11091118 DOI 10.1007/s00221-014-4186-4
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Differential changes in gingival somatosensory sensitivity after painful electrical tooth stimulation
Lene BaadHansen Shengyi Lu Pentti Kemppainen Thomas List Zhenting Zhang Peter Svensson
Received: 22 October 2014 / Accepted: 17 December 2014 / Published online: 8 January 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014
(decreased sensitivity) (P < 0.050). Similar thermal threshold changes (P < 0.019) but no mechanical changes were found after tooth stimulation below the sensory threshold (P > 0.086). No QST changes were detected in the session without tooth stimulation (P > 0.060). In conclusion, modest increased gingival sensitivity to warmth, painful heat and pressure stimuli as well as desensitization to non-painful mechanical stimulation were demonstrated after tooth stimulation. This suggests involvement of competing heterotopic facilitatory and inhibitory mechanisms. Furthermore, stimulation below the sensory threshold induced similar thermal sensitization suggesting the possibility of activation of axon-reex-like mechanisms even at intensities below the perception threshold. These ndings may have implications for interpretation of somatosensory results in patients with chronic intraoral pain.
Abstract We aimed to evaluate the effect of painful tooth stimulation on gingival somatosensory sensitivity of healthy volunteers in a randomized, controlled design. Thirteen healthy volunteers (six women, seven men; 28.4 5.0 years)
were included for two experimental sessions of electrical tooth stimulation: painful tooth stimulation and tooth stimulation below the sensory threshold (control). Eight of the human subjects participated in a third session without tooth stimulation. In all sessions, the somatosensory sensitivity of the gingiva adjacent to the stimulated tooth was evaluated with a standardized battery of quantitative sensory tests (QST) before, immediately after and 30 min after tooth stimulation. Painful tooth stimulation evoked signicant decreases in warmth and heat pain thresholds (P < 0.001) as well as pressure pain thresholds (increased sensitivity) (P = 0.024) and increases in mechanical detection thresholds
L. Baad-Hansen (*) S. Lu P. Svensson
Section of Clinical Oral Physiology, Department of Dentistry, HEALTH, Aarhus University, Vennelyst Boulevard 9, 8000 rhus C, Denmarke-mail: [email protected]
L. Baad-Hansen T. List P. Svensson
Scandinavian Center for Neuroscience (SCON), Aarhus, Denmark
L. Baad-Hansen T. List P. Svensson
Scandinavian Center for Neuroscience (SCON), Malm, Sweden
L. Baad-Hansen T. List P. Svensson
Scandinavian Center for Neuroscience (SCON), Stockholm, Sweden
S. Lu Z. Zhang
Department of Oral...
