Perception of pain, social, and functional discomfort during orthodontic treatment

Abstract

Introduction/Objective Pain and social discomfort are common experiences after the insertion of a fixed orthodontic appliance. The aim of the study was to determine the intensity of pain during the first seven days after the placement of a fixed orthodontic appliance, the impact of orthodontic treatment on psychosocial component of the patient and daily life activities in the first month of therapy. Methods The study included 60 randomly selected patients from the Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dental Medicine, Belgrade, Serbia, aged 15 to 20 years. After the insertion of a fixed orthodontic appliance, the patients were given a questionnaire form comprising questions related to the intensity of pain in the first seven days, function of speech and chewing, oral hygiene, injury of the oral mucosa, and social contacts. For the processing of results obtained from the questionnaire χ2 test was used. Results The largest percentage of respondents (21.7%) rated pain with grade 1, while less than 10% of respondents gave grades 4, 6, 7, 9, and 10. Most of the participants (95%) answered that they had no difficulties with daily life activities caused by the fixed orthodontic appliance. Most respondents (91.7%) did not have any social discomfort, while a small percentage (8.3%) said they had these problems. Conclusion General intensity of pain that respondents felt during the first seven days after the placement of a fixed orthodontic appliance was low to moderate. For most of the respondents there was no change in social behavior related to the psychosocial component. Except for changes in dietary habits and sores on the oral mucosa of the cheek in the first month of therapy, examines had no major problems with daily life activities.

Uvod/Cilj Bol i nelagodnost su uobičajena iskustva nakon postavljanja fiksnog ortodontskog aparata. Cilj ovog rada je odrediti intenzitet bola tokom prvih sedam dana nakon postavljanja fiksnog ortodontskog aparata, uticaj ortodontske terapije na psihosocijalnu komponentu ličnosti i svakodnevne životne aktivnosti u prvom mesecu terapije. Metode U istraživanju je učestvovalo 60 nasumično izabranih pacijenata Klinike za ortopediju vilica Stomatološkog fakulteta u Beogradu, uzrasta od 15 do 20 godina. Po postavljanju fiksnog ortodontskog aparata pacijenti su dobili da popune upitnik i odgovore na pitanja koja su se odnosila na pojavu bola u prvih sedam dana po postavljanju aparata na skali od jedan do deset, pitanja vezana za funkciju govora i žvakanja, održavanje oralne higijene, povrede oralne sluzokože i socijalne kontakte. Za obradu rezultata dobijenih iz anketnog upitnika koristio se χ2 test. Rezultati Najveći procenat ispitanika (21,7%) ocenili su bol sa ocenom 1 (nisu osećali bol tokom prvih sedam dana), dok je manje od 10% dalo ocene 4, 6, 7, 9 i 10. Većina učesnika (95%) odgovorila je da nisu imali problema sa obavljanjem svakodnevnih životnih aktivnosti zbog fiksnog ortodontskog aparata. Većina ispitanika (91,7%) nisu osećali socijalnu nelagodnost, a 8,3% jeste. Zaključak Generalni intenzitet bola koji su ocenili ispi- tanici prvih sedam dana po postavljanju fiksnog ortodontskog aparata je bio nizak do umeren. Kod većine ispitanika nije bilo promena u psihosocijalnom ponašanju. Osim promena navika u ishrani i pojave ranica na unutrašnjoj strani obraza u prvih mesec dana terapije, ispitanici nisu imali problema sa obavljanjem svakodnevnih aktivnosti.