Comprehensive treatment of glossodynia using vacuum therapy

Relevance. This article evaluates the effectiveness of vacuum therapy in the comprehensive treatment of glossodynia by assessing tongue tissue oxygen saturation and oral fluid noradrenaline content. Materials and methods. 65 patients with glossodynia, aged from 42 to 70 years old, comprised control (n = 32) and comparison (n = 33) groups. The control group received only medication therapy, while the comparison group also received vacuum therapy. Medication therapy included antianxiety drugs, antidepressants, vitamins and dental gel. The study used a CAP-“Periodontist” unit for physiotherapy treatment. Vacuum acted upon painful tongue areas with pressure 0.35-0.45 atm during 1.5-8 min daily (time and vacuum gradually increased within the specified range). The treatment cycle consisted of 7 sessions. We assessed the pain level by VAS (visual analogue scale). We evaluated parameters of peripheral oxygen saturation by pulse oximetry. We checked noradrenaline in the oral fluid by high-performance liquid chromatography using a liquid chromatograph with an electrochemical detector. Results. In the control group, values of peripheral oxygen saturation, noradrenaline content in the oral fluid and pain level after treatment differed from the corresponding values in the comparison group (p < 0,001). Conclusion. Comprehensive treatment of glossodynia, with vacuum therapy, is effective and significantly decreases tingling and numbness, improves microcirculation and patient psychoemotional condition due to pain relief.