**4. Discussion**

**Figure 6.** *Patients unaffected* by a facial vibration.

near 6 years. Patients in C, D and E gradually increased.

112 Salivary Glands - New Approaches in Diagnostics and Treatment

**Figure 5.** *Patients affected* by a facial vibration. A: salivation gradually increased, and temperature changed to plus tendency near 7 years. On the other hand, patients in B rapidly increased, and temperature changed to plus tendency

> The continuous use of various sensory stimuli has been known to induce an adaptation [3, 7]. So we examined *the effects of vibrotactile stimulation and the adaptation in normal subjects, when the patients* continuously used this apparatus every day. *The patients' first desire is not to have an increase in salivary secretion from all salivary glands. However, the increase of total secretion quantities is necessary.* So, we first investigated changes in the total secretion quantities of normal subjects with the vibrotactile stimulation using a cotton roll indwelling each duct of each gland.

> On parotid glands, 89 Hz vibrotactile stimuli were shown *to result in* the more effective salivation in the right and left parotid glands and submandibular and sublingual glands,

as shown in **Figure 2**. On the other hand, on the submandibular glands, 89 Hz vibrotactile stimuli with one motor were shown *to result in* the more effective salivation in all the glands. The findings suggest the 89 Hz vibrotactile stimuli with one motor may be the most effective salivation, and glands stimulated by vibrotactile stimuli have the tendency *for* the most effective salivation. Namely, on the parotid gland and on the submandibular gland vibrotactile stimuli shows the submandibular and sublingual gland, the place of stimulating portions may be the body of the mandible.

**Author details**

Koichiro Ueda<sup>1</sup>

Enri Nakayama<sup>1</sup>

Akinari Hayashi<sup>1</sup>

Tokyo, Japan

**References**

2008;**25**:222-229

(in Japanese)

web.org

1986;**67**:1126-1130

, Kanako Gora<sup>1</sup>

, Mituyasu Sato<sup>1</sup>

, Teruyuki Hirai<sup>1</sup>

\*Address all correspondence to: hiraba.hisao@nihon-u.ac.jp

, Masaru Yamaoka2

, Yumiko Tunoda<sup>4</sup>

2 Department of Basic Science, Nihon University, School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan 3 Department of Oral Surgery, Nihon University, School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan

4 Department of Dental Hospital at Surugadai, Nihon University, School of Dentistry,

, Sayako Ohnishi<sup>1</sup>

1 Department of Dysphasia Rehabilitation, Nihon University, School of Dentistry, Tokyo, Japan

[1] Ueda K. IV-2 Sessyoku enge rehabilitation. In: Uematsu H, Inaba S, Watanabe M, editors. Koureishya Shika Guidebook. Tokyo: Ishiyaku; 2005. pp. 248-275. (in Japanese)

[2] Hiraba H, Yamaoka M, Fukano M, Ueda K, Fujiwara T. Increased secretion of salivary glands produced by facial vibrotactile stimulation. Somatosensory and Motor Research.

[3] Despopoulos A, Silbernagl S. 10 Nutrion and digeston. In: Color Atlas of Physiology. 5th

[4] Yamaoka M, Hiraba H, Ueda K, Fujiwara T. Development of a vibratile stimulation apparatus for orofacial rehabilitation. Nihondaigaku Shigakubu Kiyou. 2007;**35**:13-18.

[5] Burdette BH, Gale EN. The effects of treatment on masticatory muscle activity and mandibular posture in myofascial pain-dysfunction patients. Journal of Dental Research.

[6] Vriama M, Vanharanta H. Bony vibrotactail stimulation: A new, non-invasive method

[7] Desmedt JE, Codaux E. Vibration induced discharge patterns of single motor unit in the

[8] Hiraba H, Sato T, Nishimura S, Yamaoka M, Inoue M, Sato M, Iida T, Wada S, Fujiwara T, Ueda K. Chapter 16: Changes in brain blood flow on frontal cortex depending on facial vibrotactile stimuli. In: Vibration Analysis and Control-New Trends and Developments. Francisco Beltran-Carbajal edite. Croatia: InTech; 2011. pp. 337-352. http://www.intech-

for examining intradiscal pain. European Spine Journal. 1994;**3**:233-235

masseter muscle in man. The Journal of Physiology. 1975;**253**:420-442

ed. New York: Medical Science International Ltd.; 2003. pp. 226-265

, Takako Sato3

Salivary Effects of Facial Vibrotactile Stimulation in Patients with Sjogren's Syndrome and Poor Salivation

, Sumiko Akatuka<sup>4</sup>

, Mayumi Hayata<sup>1</sup>

, Kimiko Abe<sup>1</sup>

,

and Hisao Hiraba<sup>1</sup>

,

\*

115

, Sayaka Fukui<sup>4</sup>

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.72383

*Burdette and Gale studied the effects of treatments in* myofascial pain dysfunction patients [5]. Furthermore, Vrjama and Vanharantra [6] reported that discographically painful discs always produced painless feeling in the vibration examination. These facts assume that peripheral stimuli provided by vibration arrive at the central nerve (in the spinal cord and brain stem) and that these effects were exercised by the depressant effect in the cerebral cortex depending on the somatosensory information. Namely, we think that the vibration stimuli may promote the parasympathetic effects by the inhibition of sympathetic effects elicited by the pain, and so on. On the other hand, we know that the production of salivation only induces the parasympathetic effects. Furthermore, the production of salivation will be at a specific frequency and amplitude. This phenomenon may be directly produced by the vibrotactile stimulation of 89 Hz with one motor on the parotid and submandibular glands.

On the other hand, we *examined t*he physiological characteristics of the adaptation to the vibrotactile stimulation, whether *it caused decreased salivation or not*. *A continuous examination was performed for 4 or 5 days on* 26 normal subjects [8]. Since patients with the *decreased* salivation (hyposalivation) are not exclusively happy in every day of their daily life, we conducted the experiment to realistically approximate the natural conditions. *We did not show decreased adaptation* depending on the continuous using of this apparatus, as shown in **Figure 4**. The result suggests that 89 Hz vibrotactile stimulation of the facial skin on the masseter belly may be appropriate for patients with the *decreased* salivation. Furthermore, we imagined mechanism of salivary production following facial vibration in **Figure 8**. Facial vibration directly activates the poor salivation of grands and then it indirectly parasympathetic nerve via hypothalamus.
