Pain in Separation of the Molars among the Orthodontic patients

Abstract

Introduction: Pain has been the most common and foremost reason for discontinuing the orthodontic treatment. The patients usually experience pain in Orthodontic treatment during separator placement, wire placement, headgear wear, and rapid palatal expansion. Placement of orthodontic separators (brass wire, elastomeric, spring-type steel separators, and latex elastics) results in a painful experience. Therefore the purpose of the study is to assess the pain perception among the patients seeking orthodontic treatment. Methods: This study was carried out amongst 120 (53 male and 67 female) patients seeking orthodontic treatment. Elastomeric separators were placed mesially and distally to the first molars and the participants were given a self-administrated Universal pain assessment Tool to document perceived pain and pain upon chewing, using a visual analog scale for seven days. Total scores were calculated and descriptive statistics in the form of a number (mean) and percentage were calculated. Results: This study showed a mean score for perceived pain of each day to be 7.16, 7.1, 6.05, 4.67, 3.69, 2.88, and 2.27 respectively with a mean of 4.831 +/- 1.273. Similarly, the mean score for pain on chewing was 8.21, 7.53, 6.62, 5.19, 4.38, 3.65, and 3 with a mean of 5.5119 +/- 1.269. Conclusions: There was a significant difference in pain perception among the male and female participants, females having higher pain perception. There was a significant difference in pain perception between the Adolescent and Adult in both normal life and during eating.