Effect of local exposure to inhomogeneous static magnetic field on stomatological pain sensation – a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study

Abstract

Purpose: Static magnetic field (SMF) exposure was shown experimentally to beneficially affect the healing process. The aim of this randomized, controlled trial was to evaluate the pain-inhibitory effect of local exposure to SMF on temporomandibular disorders, on alveolitis and on aphta in the oral mucosa.Materials and methods: Pain perception was evaluated on the basis of ordinary visual analogue scale (VAS) testing before and after exposure. SMF (0–192 mT peak-to-peak magnetic induction and 19 T/m lateral gradient at 3 mm from the magnets) and sham exposure was executed in a double-blind manner. A single intervention took 5 min. Altogether 79 adult patients (22 males and 57 females) with a mean (± standard error of the mean) age of 37.4 ± 1.8 years (70.9% between 20 and 50 years) participated in the study.Results: SMF exposure significantly reduced pain perception (reduction from baseline to post-treatment VAS score) in the group with temporomandibular disorders from 2.0 ± 0.3 to 0.5 ± 0.1 (n = 29, p = 0.0003), but not in case of the alveolitis, or the aphta group.Conclusions: SMF exposure as a drug-free, fast and easy to use method could potentially help stomatologists, who seek for alternative methods of local anesthesia, especially when systemic anesthesia is contraindicated.