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Meal Duration as a Measure of Orofacial Nociceptive Responses in Rodents
Published on: January 10, 2014
A non-invasive model for measuring nociception after tooth pulp exposure.
P R Kramer1, J He, J Puri
1Department of Biomedical Sciences, Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Dallas, TX 75246, USA.
Journal of Dental Research
|July 17, 2012
Summary
Tooth pulp exposure in rodents significantly increases meal duration, indicating this change can measure tooth pain. Analgesic treatment prevented this increase, confirming meal duration as a pain indicator.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Animal Behavior
- Pain Research
Background:
- Temporomandibular arthritis is known to prolong rodent meal duration.
- This suggests that behavioral changes, like meal duration, may reflect nociception.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if tooth pulp exposure, a form of dental nociception, also lengthens meal duration in rodents.
- To determine if meal duration can serve as a measurable indicator of tooth nociception.
Main Methods:
- Rats underwent pulp exposure of mandibular molars in computerized feeding modules.
- Meal duration was monitored for 13 days post-exposure.
- A second study involved pre-treatment with the analgesic buprenorphine-HCl or saline before pulp exposure.
Main Results:
- Pulp exposure significantly increased daily meal duration for 8 days in the initial study.
- In the second study, pulp exposure prolonged meal duration, but buprenorphine-HCl treatment negated this effect.
- Rats treated with buprenorphine-HCl showed no significant difference in meal duration compared to controls without pulp exposure.
Conclusions:
- Lengthening of meal duration is a validated response to tooth nociception.
- This behavioral change offers a quantifiable method for measuring dental pain over an extended period.
