Faculty of Dentistry, Centre for Multimodal Sensorimotor and Pain Research, University of Toronto, 124 Edward Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 1X3, Canada.
Clin Oral Investig. 2024 Apr 13;28(5):250. doi: 10.1007/s00784-024-05628-z.
Occlusal sensitivity (OS)-the ability to detect fine objects between opposing teeth-mainly relies on the activity of mechanoreceptors located in the periodontal ligament. We tested whether somatosensory amplification (SSA)-the tendency to perceive normal somatic sensations as being intense, noxious, and disturbing, which plays a critical role in hypervigilance-affects OS.
We measured OS in 66 adults divided into three groups based on their SSA scores (LowSSA, Intermediate - IntSSA, HighSSA) by asking them to bite on aluminum foils (8 to 72 μm thick) and a sham foil, and report whether they felt each foil. We performed 20 trials for each thickness and sham condition (each participant was tested 120 times), and compared the frequency of correct answers (%correct) among groups after adjusting for participants' trait anxiety, depression, self-reported oral behaviors, and masseter cross-sectional area.
%correct was affected by the interaction Foil Thickness-by-SSA (p = 0.007). When tested with the 8 μm foil, the HighSSA group had a lower %correct than the IntSSA (contrast estimate [95% CI]: -14.2 [-25.8 - -2.6]; p = 0.012) and the LowSSA groups (-19.1 [-31.5 - -6.6]; p = 0.001). Similarly, with the 24 μm foil, the HighSSA group had a lower %correct compared to the IntSSA (-12.4 [-24.8-0.1]; p = 0.048) and the LowSSA groups (-10.8 [-22.5-0.8]; p = 0.073).
Individuals with high SSA present with an aberrant occlusal sensitivity.
Our findings provide novel insights into the relationship between occlusal perception and psychological factors, which may influence an individual's ability to adapt to dental work.
咬合敏感度（OS）——检测上下牙之间细微物体的能力——主要依赖于位于牙周韧带中的机械感受器的活动。我们测试了躯体感觉放大（SSA）——将正常的躯体感觉感知为强烈、有害和令人不安的倾向，这在过度警觉中起着关键作用——是否会影响 OS。
我们通过让 66 名成年人咬住铝箔（8 至 72μm 厚）和假箔来测量他们的 OS，根据他们的 SSA 评分（低 SSA、中-高 SSA、高 SSA）将他们分为三组，并报告他们是否感觉到每片箔。我们对每种厚度和假箔条件进行了 20 次试验（每位参与者共进行了 120 次测试），并在调整了参与者的特质焦虑、抑郁、自我报告的口腔行为和咬肌横截面积后，比较了组间的正确回答频率（%正确）。
%正确受到箔片厚度与 SSA 的交互作用的影响（p=0.007）。当用 8μm 箔片进行测试时，高 SSA 组的%正确低于中 SSA（对比估计[95%CI]：-14.2[-25.8--6.6]；p=0.012）和低 SSA 组（-19.1[-31.5--6.6]；p=0.001）。同样，当使用 24μm 箔片时，高 SSA 组的%正确也低于中 SSA（-12.4[-24.8--0.1]；p=0.048）和低 SSA 组（-10.8[-22.5--0.8]；p=0.073）。
高 SSA 的个体表现出异常的咬合敏感度。
我们的发现为咬合感知与心理因素之间的关系提供了新的见解，这可能会影响个体适应牙科工作的能力。
