Background: Quantitative Sensory Testing (QST) can be used to establish sensory assessment in orofacial pain patients. This study evaluated responses to thermal stimuli in subjects with subtypes of orofacial pain such as temporomandibular disorders (TMD) using QST. Methods: Eighteen participants with unilateral TMD pain (15 females, 3 males; age: 29-66 years) recruited from the Orofacial Pain Clinic, the Royal North Shore Hospital, Sydney. The study followed the Methods of Limits of the German Research Network testing for the Warm Sensation, Cold Sensation, Heat Pain and Cold Pain using a TSA-II Neurosensory Analyser. The results were compared to the unaffected side of the same patient. A single t test statistical analysis was performed; a p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The Mean Difference between the pain side and the non-pain side for Cold Sensation was 0.36(t=2.275, p=0.036),-0.34 for Warm Sensation (t=-.705, p= 0.49), 3.47 for Cold Pain (t=4.393, p<0.001), -0.6 for Hot Pain (t=-1.074, p=0.298). Conclusion: The TMD patients reacted to thermal stimuli using QST methods in different ways to other orofacial pain conditions. Future studies need to be undertaken to determine sensitivity and specificity of QST in TMD pain.>
