Patients' perception on mini-screws used for orthodontic treatment in Class II Malocclusion

Introduction: The aim of the present study was to clinically evaluate the perception of pain of mini-screws in the maxillary arch for anchorage control for retraction of maxillary anterior segment in conjunction with orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods: The sample consisted of fifty adult patients with a mean age of 24.5 years, with Class II malocclusion, and the patients were divided into two groups. In Group A, 0.022” McLaughlin, Bennett, and Trevisi Bracket System (MBT) was used in 25 patients as fixed orthodontic treatment and 0.016” nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) wire was placed for initial alignment, whereas in Group B, a total of fifty mini-screws were placed in 25 patients, one mini-screw on each side in the maxilla between the 2nd premolar and the 1st molar. The patients answered a questionnaire to assess their opinions on treatment. Results: The data of description of pain experienced in 24 h, 2nd day, and 7th day in Group A and Group B are enumerated. In Group A, the pain experienced in 24 h, 2nd day, and 7th day was 49.72 (36.22), 37.17 (35.32), and 17.34 (14.45) and in Group B, it was 24.72 (15.65), 13.32 (14.34), and 12.45 (11.60), respectively. The questionnaire set was completed for functional aspect evaluation. The descriptive data of visual analog scale were presented. During this study, patient had difficulty in eating, food sticking around implant, and interference during tooth brushing was moderate, but there was no any anaesthetic appearance and disturbance in chewing ability was noted. Statistical Analysis: The nonparametric Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests were performed to evaluate the differences between the groups for pain. The Chi-square test was used to determine differences between the procedures. Differences at P < 0.01 were considered statistically significant. Statistical software, namely, SAS 9.0 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA), the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 15.0 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), and Systat 11.0 (Systat Software Inc., Chicago, IL, USA), were used for the analysis of data. Conclusion: The present study stated that the pain experience after mini-screw insertion is significantly low. The peak of the pain and discomfort level was recorded 4 h to 24 h following the insertion. Thus, mini-screws were found to be an acceptable option in providing orthodontic treatment