A prospective longitudinal controlled assessment of pain experience and oral health-related quality of life in adolescents undergoing fixed appliance treatment.
OBJECTIVE
To compare subjective pain experience and oral health-related quality of life (OH-QoL) in treated and untreated subjects over the first 3 months of fixed appliance therapy.


METHODS
The Department of Orthodontics, School of Medicine and Dentistry. One hundred and twenty-four subjects aged between 11 and 14 years either commencing or awaiting fixed appliance treatment.


METHODS
A prospective controlled longitudinal study design was applied to subjects, over a 3-month observation period, following the placement of fixed appliances. Socio-economic status, OH-QoL, pain experience and analgesic consumption were recorded on questionnaires at baseline (T0), 6 weeks (T1) and 3 months (T2).


RESULTS
Oral symptoms and functional limitation domains of OH-QoL were found to worsen, during the follow-up period, in the test group (p = 0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). In the treated group, pain intensity declined significantly on days 3 and 2 at T1 and T2, respectively (p < 0.001). Analgesia was required during both periods in a total of 13 participants (24.5%) undergoing orthodontic treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on this prospective controlled study, the initial stages of fixed appliance treatment results in subjective pain experience, with subsequent reduction, and a significant impact on oral symptoms and functional limitation domains of OH-QoL.
Department of Oral Growth and Development, Queen Mary University of London, Bart's and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, Institute of Dentistry, London, UK.
A
A
Johal
P S
PS
Fleming
F A
FA
Al Jawad
D000293:Adolescent; D000700:Analgesics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002648:Child; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008409:Mastication / Q000502:physiology; D009909:Oral Health; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances / Q000009:adverse effects; D010146:Pain / Q000523:psychology*; D010147:Pain Measurement / Q000379:methods; D058748:Pain Perception / Q000502:physiology; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011788:Quality of Life; D012923:Social Class; D064232:Visual Analog Scale
D000700:Analgesics
orthodontic; pain; quality of life