title: Test-retest reliability of a new technique with pressure algometry applied to teeth in healthy Chinese individuals.
abstract: Pressure pain thresholds (PPTs) have been shown to be useful measures of mechanical pain sensitivity in deep tissues. However, clinical methods for measuring mechanical allodynia or hyperalgesia in teeth have not been reported. The aim of this study was to assess the reliability of PPTs in periodontal ligament of healthy Chinese participants. Twenty healthy young adults participated. Pressure pain thresholds were measured at six teeth and in two directions. The tests included three consecutive trials, in two separate sessions, which were performed on the first day by one examiner. After 1-3 wk, an identical protocol was carried out by two examiners, also in two separate sessions. There were no significant differences between repeated measures for all teeth. The PPTs had excellent reliability with high intraclass coefficients (ICCs) across different sessions (ICC: 0.871-0.956), days (ICC: 0.879-0.951), and examiners (ICC: 0.845-0.950). Pressure pain thresholds applied to the teeth have excellent intra- and inter-examiner agreement in healthy participants. This method may be proposed as an easy and reliable technique to assess mechanical pain sensitivity (e.g. mechanical allodynia and hyperalgesia) in the periodontal ligament, which is associated with endodontic or periodontal conditions.
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain & TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain & TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Xinyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain & TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.|Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Oral Diseases, Nanjing Medical University; Department of Polyclinic, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Jinglu
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain & TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Linfeng
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Orofacial Pain & TMD Research Unit, Institute of Stomatology, Affiliated Hospital of Stomatology, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Wenjing
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Center for Sensory-Motor Interaction (SMI), Aalborg University, Aalborg, Denmark.
authors.forename: Kelun
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Section of Orofacial Pain and Jaw Function, School of Dentistry, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.|Department of Dental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Svensson
mesh_terms: D003807:Dentin Sensitivity; D006801:Humans; D006930:Hyperalgesia; D010147:Pain Measurement; D017288:Pain Threshold; D011312:Pressure; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
keywords: odontalgia; pressure pain threshold; quantitative sensory testing; reliability