Perception of Pain resulting from Orthodontic Separators in Orthodontic Patients Visiting Dental Department at a Private Hospital

Abstract

Pain is a response, which varies from one individual to another. Factors such as age, gender, magnitude of force applied, emotional status, individual pain threshold, etc., might affect pain. Patients who desire for orthodontic treatment are often afraid of having pain and discomfort during various stages of orthodontic treatment. This has become one of the most commonly reported complaint and reason for discontinuing orthodontic treatment. This study aims at examining the intensity of pain in orthodontic patients’ experience following the insertion of separators attending Department of Orthodontics in Nepal Medical College. Eighty six patients (26 males and 60 females) who came to department of orthodontics for fixed orthodontic treatment were selected with age range of 15-26 years. Elastomeric separators were placed mesially and distally to the upper and lower first permanent molars in all patients. Following placement of separator, the patients were given self‑administrated questionnaires and they were properly instructed on how to answer the questions. Descriptive statistics of different factors for pain perception were assessed using SPSS 16. Most of the patients had pain on second day of separator placement and among them females experienced more pain than males. Then pain slowly decreased after day 3 and disappeared after day 5. More females experienced continuous type of pain and took analgesics compared to males. Results showed that pain began a few hours after application of orthodontic force and lasted for around 5 days. Most of the patients reported pain during eating and chewing on second day and had to change their food habits into softer one. Younger age group patients experienced more pain compared to older age groups.