Somatosensory changes in orthodontics-findings from quantitative sensory testing (QST) studies

Several orthodontic procedures induce pain at some degree during the treatment. Even though orthodontic pain has been extensively studied from the clinical perspective, the spreading of standardized somatosensory examination of the oro-facial structures opens a window on the knowledge of the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying such pain. This article provides an overview on the chairside and comprehensive intraoral somatosensory testing, and summarizes the current findings on the somatosensory changes in orthodontic and orthognathic surgery patients. Signs of sensitization have been reported both during orthodontic treatment and after orthodontic-surgical treatment; therefore, clinicians should be aware of the available psychophysical methods to adequately assess the oro-facial somatosensory functions.