Orthodontic Pain Perceived by Orthodontic Patient Under Active Orthodontic Treatment at Alignment Stage

Zaid Shhabat, Malik Husseinat, Abeer Alrawabdeh, Ahmad Al-Omari, Abeer Alquraan

Abstract: Objective: We assessed the type, level, duration, and position of pain for patients who received orthodontic treatment with respect to gender, crowded teeth, pain triggers, tooth extraction, and medical treatment. Methods: We considered a sample of 188 patients from the Jordanian population who received orthodontic treatment. We collected the data from the Hakeem system database. We analysed the data with Student?s t - test, analysis of variance, and Pearsons? chi - square test. Results: Tooth crowding and extraction did not have a significant impact on the level of pain. We found that 64.3% of pain triggers were due to chewing and biting. Besides, most of the subjects experienced pain within the first couple of days of treatment; it could last for up to 5 days. Moreover, tooth crowding and higher pain levels were more common in women. Finally, the most common type of pain was due to pressure caused by tightening dental braces. Conclusion: This study sheds light on the type, level, duration, and position of perceived pain during orthodontic treatment. Chewing and biting were the most common pain triggers, and this pain was mainly perceived at the anterior and posterior teeth. While women noticed crowding a bit more than men, it did not contribute to higher pain. However, extractions seem to be more common in subjects with tooth crowding.

Keywords: Orthodontic treatment; Perceived pain; Pain triggers; Pain locations