ABSTRACT
Objective: To assess the intensity of orthodontic pain with and without the use of chewing gum during fixed orthodontic treatment in two groups of patients presenting at the Orthodontic Department of Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi
Methods: The study was conducted at the Orthodontic Department of Liaquat College of Medicine and Dentistry, Karachi, Pakistan. The sample population of this study was thirty adult patients who were planned to initiate fixed orthodontic appliance treatment. In this study, a parallel group clinical trial was conducted with two analogous groups, one was asked to chew gum following orthodontic bracket placement and second was asked not to chew gum. Up until the working wire was placed, the patients filled a questionnaire of Impact of Fixed Appliances after 24hrs and 1week. In order to analyze the intensity of pain, a visual analogue scale [VAS] was used
Results: At the initial 24hrs, among both chewing gum and non chewing gum groups, the difference in median Total Impact Score was 2, which means there was considerable difference [p=0.034; Mann-Whitney U test]
Whereas, the median difference of VAS among the two groups at 24 hours was also 2, also depicting there was considerable difference [p=0.03; Mann-Whitney U test]. However, after 1 week, there was no significant difference in both groups
Conclusion: Both the pain and impact of fixed orthodontic appliance was reduced by using chewing gum
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge of school children about dental diseases, oral hygiene practices, dietary habits and pattern of visit to dental clinic and also to identify the source of information regarding dental health. This cross-sectional study was conducted from January 2012 to June 2012, among students aged between 12 to 16 years studying in schools. Results of the study showed that 100% students believed that caries had negative effect on their dental health and sweets were the most common cause of dental caries. About the question of caries affecting dental health, 76 [25%] acquired knowledge from their dentists while 114 [37.75%] learned from school teacher and rest 113 [37.25%] gained their knowledge from parents? guardians. Moreover, regarding the source of information of soft drink as a hazard to oral health 76 [25%] got the knowledge from their dentists while 110 [36%] of students thought that soft drinks did not affect their dental health and 117 [39%] students said that they had not known the negative effect of soft drinks on their dental health. In the study, 56% responded that caries prompt them to visit dentist whereas only 10.7% visited dentist when they had bleeding gums. School teachers, parents and dentists were the main source of oral health information. The results of the present study showed that majority of the children obtained oral health information from their school teachers. Schools may provide effective settings for oral health screening and oral health educational programs