[Pain suppression in the trigeminal region by means of transcutaneous nerve stimulation]

On the basis of the gate control theory, an attempt was made to influence acute pain by transcutaneous nerve stimulation (TNS) in the region of the trigeminal nerve. After favorable first results in clinical application, we determined sensation and pain treshold values of teeth in two groups of patients by exactly defined electric stimuli of different degrees. After transcutaneous electro-stimulation of the pertinent ramus of the trigeminal nerve with rectangular stimulating currents, the threshold measurements were repeated. The thresholds were raised by an average 79% as far as sensation was concerned, and by an average 69% as far as pain was concerned.