THE EFFECT OF LIGHT PREMATURE OCCLUSAL CONTACT ON TOOTH PAIN THRESHOLD IN HUMANS

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of an experiment ally induced light premature occlusal contact on tooth sensation. This assessment involved monitoring the electric tooth pain threshold (TPT ) at multiple times before and after altering the occlusal contact. Th is alteration was produced by placing high inlays, which were measured with a custom made measuring device in maximum intercuspation. Data w ere collected on 10 teeth in 5 subjects, all whom were male and betwee n the ages of 24 and 30 years. The contact area of the high inlays var ied from 75 mu m to 193 mu m. The TPT changes in these teeth ranged fr om -43 to +21% of their baseline level. Seven of these teeth showed a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in the TPT, one showed an increase and two did not show a significant change. Two of the teeth with a decrea sed TPT had cold water triggered occlusal pain, and 2 teeth had only o cclusal pain. After several inlay adjustments to eliminate interferanc e in maximum intercuspation, all tested teeth returned to their TPT ba seline level and all symptoms disappeared. These results suggested tha t a light premature occlusal contact may change tooth sensation.