Pain experience during initial alignment with self-ligating and conventional brackets

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to compare the pain experience among orthodontic patients treated with self-ligating brackets SmartClip® (3M Unitek, Monrovia, California, USA) and conventional brackets Victory series® (3M Unitek, Monrovia, California, USA). We used a controlled clinical trial study design to compare 69 patients treated with self-ligating to 70 patients treated by conventional brackets. The nickel-titanium archwires 0.012-in were engaged after bonding both arches on the first day; and the visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to assess the pain experience of subjects for the first seven treatment days. The pre-treatment dental study models were assessed by the Little’s irregularity index to quantify the groups’ malalignment characteristics. The self-ligating brackets reported lower pain experience than the conventional group on the first five treatment days. However, the sixth day showed 1.75 mm higher visual analogue score than conventional brackets, with almost equal pain level on the seventh day. The group differences throughout the first week were neither clinically nor statistically significant. The pain experiences in both groups decreased steadily from the third treatment day to the end of the first week of treatment. Based on the study findings, the pain experience during initial alignment is not influenced by the brackets’ ligation type. The pain experience tends to decrease steadily from the third treatment day to the end of the first week of treatment irrespective of the bracket type used.