L-tryptophan supplementation does not affect postoperative pain intensity or consumption of analgesics.

Aiming at optimizing serotonin levels in endogenous pain-modulating systems, L-tryptophan supplementation pre- and postoperatively (2 g/day for 7 days) did not affect pain development or analgesic consumption after third molar surgery. Biological effects related to an increase in mood were observed, however, indicating transport of L-tryptophan to the central nervous system. The findings are discussed in relation to earlier reports on favorable effects of L-tryptophan on experimental pain in healthy subjects and in chronic pain patients.

Extrasegmental transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and mechanical vibratory stimulation as compared to placebo for the relief of acute oro-facial pain.

The present paper describes the pain reducing effect of high and low frequency transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and 100 Hz mechanical vibratory stimulation as compared to placebo stimulation of the HoKu point in 50 patients suffering acute oro-facial pain. Ten of the 30 patients receiving actual stimulation reported pain reduction during treatment. In the placebo group of 20 patients, 4 of the subjects experienced pain relief during the trial. The findings in the present study showed that extrasegmental superficial stimulation of the HoKu point alters pain intensity in the patients studied to only a minor degree. The number of patients reporting pain alleviation and the magnitude of pain reduction in the groups receiving actual stimulation was comparable to that observed in earlier studies using intrasegmental placebo stimulation.

Afferent stimulation induced pain relief in acute oro-facial pain and its failure to induce sufficient pain reduction in dental and oral surgery.

In the present paper it is demonstrated that transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and vibratory stimulation can reduce pathological pain but give insufficient pain reduction to allow dental and oral surgery. Thirty-seven patients were assigned to one of 4 groups receiving either TENS of high (100 Hz) or low (2 Hz) frequency, vibration at 100 Hz or placebo stimulation. Pain intensity was continuously assessed. A crude assessment of pinprick threshold, paraesthesia and anaesthesia was made prior to the clinical treatment. After 30 min of afferent stimulation the surgical treatment was started, aiming at pulp surgery, abscess incision or tooth extraction. However, all patients experienced intolerable pain at these attempts although about half of the patients experienced relief of their pathological pain, increase in pinprick threshold, paraesthesia as well as anaesthesia during the stimulation period. All patients were thus given conventional local anaesthesia and were all painlessly treated.

Vibratory stimulation for the relief of pain of dental origin.

The present paper describes the effect of vibratory stimulation on pain of dental origin in 36 patients. The patients were from a clinic for dental surgery and all had suffered pain from pulpal inflammation, apical periodontitis or postoperative pain following extraction of an impacted wisdom tooth for more than 2 days. Vibration at 100 Hz was applied to various points in the facial region or the skull. All the patients except three experienced an effective reduction of the intensity of the pain. In the patients who experienced pain reduction there was usually a best point at which vibration had a greater pain alleviating effect than at other points. At some points the stimulation added to the pain. In 16 patients the stimulation caused a reduction in pain intensity of 75--100%; out of these 12 patients reported a complete relief of pain.