IADR Abstract Archives
Effects of Tooth Clenching on Pain Tolerance
Objectives: 'Bite your teeth', 'grit your teeth' or 'clench your jaw' are idioms that universally exist in diverse languages and cultures and reflect a wisdom of crowds. The verbal advice refers to a stopgap measure that is supposed to suppress acute pain. If true, this maneuver would be a simple and cheap analgesic. Yet, to our knowledge, no scientific evidence exists regarding the validity of this popular wisdom. This pilot study aimed at investigating the analgesic effect of clenching using an easy applicable standardized sensory testing device.
Methods: 59 healthy pain-free subjects (33 females, aged 22 - 61) participated. All research procedures were approved by the local ethics committee. Constant current stimuli were generated by Pain Matcher (Cefar Medical AB, Lund, Sweden). It delivers rectangular, 0 - 396µs wide pulses of 10Hz frequency and 15mA amplitude. Slight pressure applied by subjects to the sensors between index finger and thumb instantly started the stimulation. Over time, the current strength increases linearly until subjects release one finger. Following familiarization with the device, a first experimental run started with participants randomly assigned to pain tolerance threshold determination while clenching (Cle) or without clenching (Con). Three additional runs followed with inter-run intervals of 5 minutes.
Results: Table.
Whereas no significant difference were detected within clenching conditions, PTT was significantly increased during clenching compared to control (p<0.05). Females and males differed significantly in all experimental conditions (p<0.05).
Conclusions: This is the first study revealing that clenching results in increased pain tolerance, thus providing scientific evidence for a popular wisdom of crowds.
Methods: 59 healthy pain-free subjects (33 females, aged 22 - 61) participated. All research procedures were approved by the local ethics committee. Constant current stimuli were generated by Pain Matcher (Cefar Medical AB, Lund, Sweden). It delivers rectangular, 0 - 396µs wide pulses of 10Hz frequency and 15mA amplitude. Slight pressure applied by subjects to the sensors between index finger and thumb instantly started the stimulation. Over time, the current strength increases linearly until subjects release one finger. Following familiarization with the device, a first experimental run started with participants randomly assigned to pain tolerance threshold determination while clenching (Cle) or without clenching (Con). Three additional runs followed with inter-run intervals of 5 minutes.
Results: Table.
Whereas no significant difference were detected within clenching conditions, PTT was significantly increased during clenching compared to control (p<0.05). Females and males differed significantly in all experimental conditions (p<0.05).
Conclusions: This is the first study revealing that clenching results in increased pain tolerance, thus providing scientific evidence for a popular wisdom of crowds.