Abstract
Evaluation of perception of pain and of associated factors at different time intervals among patients undergoing fixed orthodontic therapy. A cross-sectional prospective study was conducted among patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment in the Department of Orthodontics, King Khalid University College of Dentistry, Abha. An estimated sample of 80 subjects, males and females ranging from 12 to 35 years of age, was included in the study. The participants were asked to indicate the intensity of pain on a VAS scale ranging from 0 - no pain (on the left) to 10 - worst pain (on the right) through moderate pain (in the middle) after 4 hours, 24 hours, 2 and 7 days after the start of the fixed orthodontic treatment. The data thus obtained was collected and organized into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet and statistically analyzed utilizing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 20.0 software. It was observed that the mean value of pain was highest (3.73) 4 hours after the start of the fixed orthodontic treatment, and lowest (0.93) on the 7th day of treatment. Most (68.8%) of the participants mentioned that their pain was aggravated by mastication, pain also increasing during tooth-brushing (3.8%) and speaking (3.8%). Moreover, 86.25% of them had used no analgesics for the relief of pain while 7.5% had used analgesics. It was concluded that the patients perceive the pain to be at peak level in the initial stage of the fixed orthodontic treatment which, being aggravated during mastication and declining with time.