Afferent stimulation induced pain relief in acute oro-facial pain and its failure to induce sufficient pain reduction in dental and oral surgery

Abstract

In the present paper it is demonstrated that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and vibratory stimulation can reduce pathological pain but give insufficient pain reduction to allow dental and oral surgery. Thirty-seven patients were assigned to one of 4 groups receiving either TENS of high (100 Hz) or low (2 Hz) frequency, vibration at 100 Hz or placebo stimulation. Pain intensity was continuously assessed. A crude assessment of pinprick threshold, paraesthesia and anaesthesia was made prior to the clinical treatment. After 30 min of afferent stimulation the surgical treatment was started, aiming at pulp surgery, abscess incision or tooth extraction. However, all patients experienced intolerable pain at these attempts although about half of the patients experienced relief of their pathological pain, increase in pinprick threshold, paraesthesia as well as anaesthesia during the stimulation period. All patients were thus given conventional local anaesthesia and were all painlessly treated.