Pain experience during initial alignment with three types of nickel-titanium archwires: a prospective clinical trial

Abstract

Objective: To clinically evaluate the pain intensity during the week following initial placement of three different orthodontic aligning archwires.

Materials and methods: A consecutive sample of 75 patients requiring upper and lower fixed orthodontic appliances were alternately allocated into three different archwires (0.014-inch superelastic NiTi, 0.014-inch thermoelastic NiTi or 0.014-inch conventional NiTi). Assessments of pain/discomfort were made on a daily basis over the first 7-day period after bonding by means of visual analog scale and consumption of analgesics. The maximum pain score was recorded. The possible associations between age, gender, degree of crowding, and teeth irregularity and the pain intensity were also examined. Demographic and clinical differences between the three groups were compared with chi-square test or analysis of variance (ANOVA) test.

Results: No statistically significant differences were found in the pain intensity when the three aligning NiTi archwires were compared (P = .63). No significant differences in pain perception were found in terms of gender, age, lower arch crowding, and incisor irregularity. The intake of analgesics was the least in the superelastic NiTi group.

Conclusion: The three forms of NiTi wires were similar in terms of pain intensity during the initial aligning stage of orthodontic fixed appliance therapy. Gender, age, and the degree of crowding have no effect on the perceived discomfort experienced by patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment.

Keywords: NiTi archwires; Pain intensity.

Figure 1.

Plot of mean VAS as a function of time for the three NiTi archwires.