
pmid: 23238026
Wound healing is an important aspect of oral and maxillofacial surgery. Positive sensory signs (allodynia, hyperalgesia) and negative sensory signs (hypoesthesia, hypoalgesia) may be encountered. Quantitative sensory testing (QST) has moved from bench to bedside for the detection, therapy selection and monitoring the recovery of individuals with sensory disturbances. Tracking somatosensory changes during normal and abnormal wound healing has not previously been reported. This report presents data obtained by a novel, automated, non-contact psychophysical method for assessment of wound sensitivity after standardized oral mucosal biopsy. By directing graded air puffs towards palatal biopsy wounds, thresholds for sensory detection, pain detection and pain tolerance were repeatedly assessed across 19 days, demonstrating high reliability. Participants recorded daily spontaneous and chewing-evoked maximum pains. Pain detection and tolerance thresholds increased linearly across time. Comparison between air puff evoked pain detection threshold and chewing-evoked pain demonstrated a strong correlation. Thus, for the first time, this study tracked the time course of somatosensory sensitivity of wounds induced by oral biopsies. The psychophysical data on wound healing obtained by this automated, contact-free stimulation method can be utilized as a surrogate marker for clinical pain improvements and standardized assessment of intraoral pain sensitivity, for example in oral mucositis.
Adult, Male, Air Pressure, Wound Healing, Time Factors, 3504 Oral Surgery, Mouth Mucosa, Sensation, 10223 Clinic for Masticatory Disorders, Pain, Reproducibility of Results, 610 Medicine & health, 10060 Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute (EBPI), Recovery of Function, 2746 Surgery, 10068 Clinic of Reconstructive Dentistry, 2733 Otorhinolaryngology, Physical Stimulation, Sensory Thresholds, Psychophysics, Humans, Female, Pain Measurement
Adult, Male, Air Pressure, Wound Healing, Time Factors, 3504 Oral Surgery, Mouth Mucosa, Sensation, 10223 Clinic for Masticatory Disorders, Pain, Reproducibility of Results, 610 Medicine & health, 10060 Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Prevention Institute (EBPI), Recovery of Function, 2746 Surgery, 10068 Clinic of Reconstructive Dentistry, 2733 Otorhinolaryngology, Physical Stimulation, Sensory Thresholds, Psychophysics, Humans, Female, Pain Measurement
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