title: Fixed orthodontic appliances cause pain and disturbance in somatosensory function.
abstract: This study aimed to assess the short-term effects of orthodontic pain on quantitative sensory testing (QST) in subjects receiving fixed orthodontic treatment. Twenty patients and 12 healthy volunteers (as controls) participated. All 20 patients had bonded AO self-ligating brackets, with a 0.014 super elastic nickel-titanium arch wire placed in the brackets. Pain [self-reported on a visual analog scale (VAS)], and thermal and mechanical thresholds, were tested at six time points--before (baseline), and 2 h, 24 h, 7 d, 14 d, and 30 d after, force application--in the treatment group. The attached gingiva adjacent to the left upper central incisor (21 gingiva) was hypersensitive to cold stimuli (i.e. increased cold detection thresholds were detected) in the treatment group. The pressure pain thresholds of the left upper central incisor (21) and 21 gingiva were significantly reduced. Our results suggest clear signs of sensitization of the trigeminal nociceptive system up to 1 month after force application and orthodontic pain. Quantitative assessment of somatosensory function may help to provide a better understanding and profiling of the underlying neurobiological mechanisms related to orthodontic pain.
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain and TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Institute of Stomatology and Department of Orthodontics, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Huijie
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain and TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Institute of Stomatology and Department of Orthodontics, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shao
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain and TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jinglu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain and TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Institute of Stomatology and Department of Orthodontics, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Zhendong
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain and TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Institute of Stomatology and Department of Orthodontics, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Dong
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lv
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain and TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Institute of Stomatology and Department of Orthodontics, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, School of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Svensson
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain and TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction (SMI) Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kelun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D005881:Gingiva; D006801:Humans; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D010146:Pain; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold
keywords: orthodontic pain; quantitative sensory testing; somatosensory function; trigeminal system