An investigation into the initial discomfort caused by placement of an archwire

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Abstract
Thirty patients completed a discomfort index card for the first 16 days following placement of a fixed appliance. This recorded a score for the degree of discomfort and the analgesic requirement on a sessional basis. A number of patients suffered severe discomfort over the 1st few days, 11 scoring at least 1 severe discomfort session and 12 a moderate discomfort session. The majority of recording occurred over the first 8 days, although the most severe scores were mostly within the first 3 days. Those scoring discomfort sessions usually had the worse pain at night, and this correlated well with when analgesics were most required. Those patients scoring at most mild discomfort (5) had this discomfort evenly distributed throughout the day. There was a statistically significant difference in the discomfort experience of adolescents under 16 yr of age and adults over 16 yr of age.

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