Nitrous oxide analgesia: a psychophysical evaluation using verbal descriptor scaling.
The effect of 33% nitrous oxide/67% oxygen was compared with 100% oxygen and air on verbal reports of either sensory intensity or unpleasantness of sensations associated with painful electrical tooth pulp stimulation. Forty-eight subjects used words describing the sensory intensity (i.e., weak, mild, strong) or degree of unpleasantness (i.e., annoying, unpleasant, distressing) to assess the sensations produced by a broad range of tooth pulp stimuli. Within the experimental session, a given subject assessed the painful sensations under all three treatments delivered through a nasal inhaler in a double-blind manner. The incorporation of within-subject placebo (nasal inhaler + air) and active placebo (nasal inhaler + oxygen) controls allowed for rigorous assessment of the components of nitrous oxide analgesia. The results of this study suggest that 33% nitrous oxide analgesia reduces the intensity but not the unpleasantness of painful tooth pulp sensations. Further, 100% oxygen provides no analgesic effect.
D000766:Anesthesia, Dental / Q000523:psychology; D003782:Dental Pulp / Q000502:physiology; D003791:Dental Pulp Test / Q000379:methods; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009609:Nitrous Oxide; D010146:Pain / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D010919:Placebos; D012677:Sensation / Q000502:physiology*
D010919:Placebos; D009609:Nitrous Oxide