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Pressure–pain threshold determination in the oral mucosa: validity and reliability
Author(s) -
Ogimoto T.,
Ogawa T.,
Sumiyoshi K.,
Matsuka Y.,
Koyano K.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
journal of oral rehabilitation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2842
pISSN - 0305-182X
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2842.2002.00874.x
Subject(s) - medicine , buccal mucosa , oral mucosa , buccal administration , sensation , dentistry , molar , orthodontics , pathology , biology , oral cavity , neuroscience
Fundamental knowledge of pain in the oral mucosa is lacking. We determined the validity and reliability of the pressure–pain threshold (PPT) measurement in the oral mucosa using a newly developed hand‐held pressure algometer. Ten dentulous subjects were recruited, and the PPT was measured at the bilateral buccal (on the attached gingiva apical to the midline of the upper first premolars, 3 mm from the mucogingival junction) and the palatal sites (mid‐point between the bilateral upper first molars). The PPT linearly increased with an increase in load‐rate ( P < 0·0001). The PPT yielded a high intra‐individual stability both for the same‐day consecutive trials and weekly sessions. The palatal site revealed a 4‐ to 4·65‐fold greater PPT than the buccal sites (Bonferroni, P < 0·0001), whereas no difference was found between the bilateral buccal sites ( P =0·663). Despite a great interindividual variation in the PPT, significant intra‐individual correlations were found among the measurement sites. This suggested differences in individual sensitivity to pain in the oral mucosa, which may determine overall pain sensation specific to an individual. A pressure algometer described herein reliably assessed the PPT in the oral mucosa and sensitively discriminated PPT differences at different sites and at different load‐rates, suggest‐ing the reliability and validity of PPT measure‐ments in the oral mucosa for clinical and research investigations.