Preoperative acetaminophen vs ibuprofen for control of pain after orthodontic separator placement

Validation of a modified McGill Pain Questionnaire for orthodontic patients

“…13 This questionnaire has been applied to evaluate pain efficiently in adult dental patients 14 and in adolescent, 15 preadolescent, and adult orthodontic patients 16 ; however, in its original form it has questionable applicability to young individuals undergoing elective therapy. Although some researchers have recommended the MPQ to investigate orthodontic pain, 15,16 to date, its psychometric utility has not been established.…”

Pain and Orthodontic Treatment

“…28,29 Some studies reported similar levels of pain relief with NSAIDs and acetaminophen. 17,26,29 Other pain medications studied include aspirin, which was found to be less effective than other NSAIDs and should not be used by children, and valdecoxib, a COX-2 inhibitor that has been removed from the US market due to adverse cardiovascular effects. Other more nontraditional methods of pain relief include lowlevel laser therapy, transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation, vibratory stimulation, and analgesic gum.…”

“…2,13,16,18,19,29 Premedication with an NSAID such as ibuprofen or naproxen sodium has been found to be effective in managing orthodontic pain. 17,28 Research showed that these medications delayed the onset of pain and decreased initial pain experiences if taken 1 hour before certain orthodontic procedures and that preprocedural and postprocedural pain medication gave the most effective and long-lasting pain relief. [16][17][18]28 Despite these research findings, there is no standard of care for analgesic use in the pain management of orthodontic patients.…”

“…17,28 Research showed that these medications delayed the onset of pain and decreased initial pain experiences if taken 1 hour before certain orthodontic procedures and that preprocedural and postprocedural pain medication gave the most effective and long-lasting pain relief. [16][17][18]28 Despite these research findings, there is no standard of care for analgesic use in the pain management of orthodontic patients. It is more common for orthodontists to simply tell their patients to take analgesics as needed, leaving pain management decisions up to their mostly adolescent patients and their parents.…”

“…3,4,8,10 For patients, pain might even be the most significant side effect of orthodontic treatment and one of the primary reasons for noncompliance. [13][14][15][16][17] Pain from orthodontic treatment has been shown to have negative effects on oral hygiene efforts and to be a major reason for missing appointments 14,18 ; in addition, almost all orthodontic patients reported pain when chewing and biting food, causing them to change their diet. 5,19,20 Finally, pain and discomfort during orthodontic treatment has been shown to affect a patient's overall satisfaction with their orthodontic treatment outcomes.…”