Abstract
Many orthodontists frequently overlook the pain associated with orthodontic tooth movement and fail to take any active countermeasures. This study investigated the pain alleviating effect of chewing on bite-wafers (KM Thera-BiteTM, Lancer Co. Ltd.) for patients under orthodontic treatment.
The subjects consisted of 73 orthodontic patients (10-63 years old; 17 males and 56 fe males) at the Dental Hospital of Iwate Medical University who were to under go tooth alignment using a multi-bracket orthodontic appliance. These subjects were classified into a bite-wafer group (35 subjects; 7 males and 28 females) and a control group (38 subjects; 10 males and 28 females). In the bite-wafer group, subjects were treated with a bite-wafer with the instruction to chew for approximately 20 minutes each after the arch wire was initially set and replaced.
The subjects were then asked to fill in a questionnaire on the following items:
1) sensation when the arch wire was set, 2) sensation when the pain appeared, 3) sensation when the pain was at the maximum level, 4) degree of dietary limitation, 5) degree of sleep limitation, 6) difficulties in articulation, 7) nervousness, 8) their current sensation, 9) when the pain first appeared, 10) how long it took for the pain to reach the maximum level, and 11) how many days it took for the pain to disappear.
The Visual Analog Scale (VAS) was used to evaluate individual sensations quantitatively.
The results of this study indicated that VAS scores on the items of sensation when the pain appeared and when the pain reached a maximum were smaller in the bite-wafer group than in the control group.
It is speculated that chewing on bite-wafers is effective for patients suffering from orthodontic tooth movement.
