title: No effect of experimental occlusal interferences on pressure pain thresholds of the masseter and temporalis muscles in healthy women.
abstract: It has been suggested that occlusal interferences may lead to pain and tenderness of the masticatory muscles. Tender jaw muscles are more sensitive to pressure pain, as assessed by means of pressure algometry. We tested the effects of occlusal interferences on the pressure pain threshold of the jaw muscles by means of a double-blind randomized crossover experiment carried out on 11 young healthy females. Golden strips were glued either to an occlusal contact area (active interference) or to the vestibular surface of the same tooth (dummy interference) and left for 8 d each. Pressure pain thresholds of the masseter and anterior temporalis muscles were assessed under interference-free, dummy-interference and active-interference conditions. The results indicated that the application of an active occlusal interference, as used in this study, did not influence significantly the pressure pain thresholds of these muscles in healthy individuals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dental and Maxillo-Facial Sciences, Section of Orthodontics and Clinical Gnathology, University of Naples Federico II, Italy. michelot@unina.it
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Michelotti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Farella
authors.forename: M H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Steenks
authors.forename: L M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Gallo
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Palla
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D003768:Dental Occlusion, Centric; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D004576:Electromyography; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008310:Malocclusion / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008406:Masseter Muscle / Q000503:physiopathology*; D017288:Pain Threshold / Q000502:physiology*; D013703:Temporal Muscle / Q000503:physiopathology*