ABSTRACT
Objective@#The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of chewing gum and low-level laser therapy in alleviating orthodontic pain induced by the initial archwire. @*Methods@#Patients with 3–6 mm maxillary crowding who planned to receive non-extraction orthodontic treatment were recruited for the study. Sixty-three participants (33 females and 30 males) were randomly allocated into three groups: laser, chewing gum, and control. In the laser group, a gallium aluminum arsenide (GaAlAs) diode laser with a wavelength of 820 nm was used to apply a single dose immediately after orthodontic treatment began. In the chewing gum group, sugar-free gum was chewed three times for 20 minutes— immediately after starting treatment, and at the twenty-fourth and forty-eighth hours of treatment. Pain perception was measured using a visual analog scale at the second, sixth, and twenty-fourth hours, and on the second, third, and seventh days. @*Results@#There were no statistically significant differences between the groups at any measured time point (p > 0.05). The highest pain scores were detected at the twenty-fourth hour of treatment in all groups. @*Conclusions@#Within the limitations of the study, we could not detect whether low-level laser therapy and chewing gum had any clinically significant effect on orthodontic pain. Different results may be obtained with a higher number of participants or using lasers with different wavelengths and specifications. Although the study had a sufficient number of participants according to statistical analysis, higher number of participants could have provided more definitive outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Objective@#The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of chewing gum and low-level laser therapy in alleviating orthodontic pain induced by the initial archwire. @*Methods@#Patients with 3–6 mm maxillary crowding who planned to receive non-extraction orthodontic treatment were recruited for the study. Sixty-three participants (33 females and 30 males) were randomly allocated into three groups: laser, chewing gum, and control. In the laser group, a gallium aluminum arsenide (GaAlAs) diode laser with a wavelength of 820 nm was used to apply a single dose immediately after orthodontic treatment began. In the chewing gum group, sugar-free gum was chewed three times for 20 minutes— immediately after starting treatment, and at the twenty-fourth and forty-eighth hours of treatment. Pain perception was measured using a visual analog scale at the second, sixth, and twenty-fourth hours, and on the second, third, and seventh days. @*Results@#There were no statistically significant differences between the groups at any measured time point (p > 0.05). The highest pain scores were detected at the twenty-fourth hour of treatment in all groups. @*Conclusions@#Within the limitations of the study, we could not detect whether low-level laser therapy and chewing gum had any clinically significant effect on orthodontic pain. Different results may be obtained with a higher number of participants or using lasers with different wavelengths and specifications. Although the study had a sufficient number of participants according to statistical analysis, higher number of participants could have provided more definitive outcomes.
ABSTRACT
Reconstruction of large abdominal wall defects is a challenging problem. Various reconstructive techniques have been described in the surgical literature each with its advantages and disadvantages. In this report we describe our experience in treating a patient with large abdominal wall defect by staged abdominal wall reconstruction utilizing prosthetic mesh in conjunction with tissue expanders. A 41-year-old male presented with abdominal pain. Exploratory laparotomy showed perforated appendicitis with intraabdominal abscess of 1,500 mL. Postoperatively, he developed intraperitoneal sepsis. To prevent abdominal compartment syndrome, he was reoperated and left with "open abdomen". After several open abdomen lavages, his abdominal wall defect was allowed to granulate. After epithelization of the defect, the abdominal wall was reconstructed using prosthetic mesh and tissue expanders. The tissue expansion process was well tolerated. We suggest that the use of tissue expanders provides reliable and well-vascularized soft-tissue coverage in abdominal wall reconstruction.