Pressure pain threshold with and without iontophoretic anesthesia of the masseter muscle in asymptomatic males.

AIMS: The pressure pain threshold (PPT) in the superficial masseter muscle was measured with and without cutaneous anesthesia to determine whether there would be a difference in PPT scores. METHODS: In 14 healthy male subjects, cutaneous tissues in the target areas were anesthetized with lidocaine with the help of an iontophoretic device. As a control, physiologic saline solution was applied iontophoretically to the contralateral masseter site. The subject and the PPT examiner did not know which side contained anesthesia, and the selection of which side to anesthetize was done in a random fashion. Multiple PPT measurements were made in the target sites before and immediately after the iontophoretic anesthesia. RESULTS: The PPT level on the lidocaine side was not statistically different from the PPT level recorded on the control side (339.0 ± 87.6 kPa and 337.5 ± 77.7 kPa, respectively). CONCLUSION: Pressure pain sensation in the human masseter is not derived predominantly from the cutaneous tissues, but from the muscle itself.