Original Articles DIFFERENCE BETWEEN PERCEIVED AND ACTUAL PAIN EXPERIENCED WITH ORTHODONTIC FIXED APPLIANCES; A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY CONDUCTED AT A PRIVATE DENTAL HOSPITAL IN LAHORE, PUNJAB

Ch. Rehan Qamar, Muhammad Kamran, Hassaan Saeed

Abstract

Background

The current study aimed to find the difference between perceived pain and actual pain experienced with orthodontic fixed appliances. Material and Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out from June to November 2021, on 33 patients, out of which males were 19 (57.58%) and females were 14 (42.42%) in number, with a mean age of 16.12 ± 4.18 yars visiting University Hospital of Dentistry, Lahore. Pain, perceived by patients before the fixture was recorded by visual analog scale (VAS), and the onset and severity of
actually experienced pain were also recorded with VAS after fixing the appliance.

Results

The onset of actual pain was after 4 hours of the procedure and paired t-test showed a statistically significant difference between perceived and actual pain.

Conclusion

The patient’s perception of pain before the fixture is much greater than the intensity of actual pain experienced during the orthodontic fixed appliance treatment.