Temporary Threshold Shift of Vibration Sensation by Dental Handpiece

Kim, Seong Ah; Lee, Jong Young; Kim, Doohie; Park, Soon Woo

Abstract

This study was performed to investigate the possibility of temporary threshold shift (TTS) of vibration sense could induced by exposure to high-frequency vibration or by work position taking by dentists in drilling or polishing. The vibratory perception thresholds (VPT) of 28 healthy men were measured on the index fingertip pulp of dominant hand at 250Hz. The vibrating tool used in test was a low-speed handpiece of 34,000 rpm. For the TTS test, the dominant hand was exposed to high-frequency vibration and to work position for five minutes, respectively. The VPTs before and after vibratory exposure were 23.5+/-3.5 dB, 30.8+/-4.2 dB, respectively and VPT after work position was 23.7+/-4.6 dB. The difference between before and after vibartory exposure was statistically significant (P<0.001). The correlation of height, weight and BMl with baseline VPTs was not statistically significant. Also, there was no difference of VPTs by smoking. These results suggest that high-frequency vibration from dental handpieces might cause the impairment of vibration sensation.