Page 84 - 7. FINAL draft Compendium 2019 2020_22072022

PAIN AND DISCOMFORT EXPERIENCE IN ONE WEEK FOLLOWING THE INSERTION OF FIXED
APPLIANCE
NMRR-18-3307-44163

Sunittha GK, Mohd Zaid A, Ainal MA

Introduction: Pain and discomfort are the most common complaints of patients
undergoing Orthodontic treatment with fixed appliance. These often discourage potential
patients from seeking treatment and result in missed appointments among treatment
undergoing patients. Objective: To evaluate the pain experienced during different
components insertion, types of discomfort experienced after initial archwire insertion and
whether there is a difference in the pain experience between genders in the first 7 days
after initial archwire insertion. Materials and Method: This prospective longitudinal cohort
study was conducted among 54 patients who underwent fixed orthodontic treatment in
the Children Dental Centre & Ministry of Health Training Institute, using a set of self-
administered questionnaires. Using a Standard Ministry of Health, Malaysia Pain Scale and
a discomfort Likert- Scale, the pain intensity of different fixed appliance components
insertion and discomfort after initial archwire insertion experienced by the patients was
assessed respectively within 24 hours and 1 week. The data were analyzed using SPSS
software. Results: A total of 19 males and 35 females were included in the study with a
mean (SD) age of 15.6 (1.0) years (range 14.0-17.0 years). It was noticed that pain score
peaked in 24 hours for all the three components with the highest mean scored for initial
archwire (mean: 2.56, SD: 0.79) followed by separator (mean: 2.22, SD: 1.04) and band
(mean: 1.91, SD: 0.81). Pain intensity reduced and marked the similar mean values for all
the 3 components on day 7 (separator- mean: 0.28 ; band- mean: 0.28 ; archwire- mean:
0.3). There was a significant difference in pain experience between males and females after
initial archwire insertion (p=0.001). Pain experience was higher in males compared to
females (p<0.05). Discomfort experience was assessed using the Likert scale e.g No
discomfort, Mild discomfort, Moderate discomfort, Severe discomfort, and Intolerable
discomfort. However, the results show mean values for the difficulty in mastication (mean:
2.70, SD: 1.55) and oral soft tissue injury (mean: 2.61, SD: 0.76) were the highest on day 1
and remain the most common discomfort on day 7 (mastication – mean: 0.37 ; soft tissue
injury – mean: 0.52). Conclusion: Patients should be informed and be educated on the
degree of initial pain and discomfort experienced during the initial phase of fixed appliance
treatment to encourage their adaptation to pain and discomfort within 24 hours and 1
week after placement of the appliance.

Virtual Poster presentation at the 28 MDA SCATE 2021 on 27-28 February 2021
th
th
Dr Sunittha Gopala Krishnan Dr Mohd Zaid bin Abdullah
Dr Ainal Muaizzah Anuar Johor Bahru Oral Health District Office
Children Dental Centre & Ministry of Health Training Johor Malaysia
Institute
Georgetown Penang
Malaysia

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