Intraoral measurement of tactile and filament-prick pain threshold using shortened Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments

Abstract

Objectives: Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments are too long for use in parts of the oral cavity. The present study used shortened Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments to evaluate reliability and spatial differences in the intraoral tactile detection threshold (TDT) and the filament-prick pain detection threshold (FPT) in healthy volunteers.

Methods: For practical purposes, classic Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments with 20 different diameters were cut to half their length (ie, 19 mm) and the bending forces were measured. Eighteen men and 18 women (age range, 20 to 33 y) were recruited to evaluate the reliability and reproducibility of measurements using half-cut monofilaments. The TDT and the FPT were measured on the labial maxillary gingiva, on the palatal maxillary gingiva, and at the anterior tip of the tongue, using a double random staircase method.

Results: According to the forces needed to bend the half-cut filaments, they were renumbered from 2.55 to 6.86. There were significant differences of bending force between the half-cut and original monofilaments (P<0.001), Using half-cut filaments, the following differences could be detected; the labial maxillary gingiva had a significantly higher TDT threshold compared with the other test sites (P<0.001). By contrast, the palatal posterior maxillary gingiva had a significantly higher FPT threshold compared with the other test sites (P<0.001).

Discussions: The present study illustrated that in healthy participants, half-cut Semmes-Weinstein monofilaments reliably and easily assess TDT and FPT intraorally. A combined examination of sensory and pain thresholds using these filaments contributes to the clinical examination for orofacial pain.