article · Orthodontic Journal of Nepal
Pain and discomfort caused by tooth movement during the early alignment stage of fixed orthodontic treatment are common concerns for patients. A prospective randomised trial evaluated 82 patients undergoing alignment to compare the pain caused by Super Elastic Nickel-Titanium archwires against Copper Nickel-Titanium archwires, using 0.014-inch dimensions for both groups. Pain was monitored over seven days using a modified McGill Pain Questionnaire alongside a Visual Analogue Scale. Patients in both cohorts experienced pain that peaked between 6 and 12 hours following the insertion of the wires. Although the intensity of pain diminished gradually over the week, with a relatively faster reduction noted in the Super Elastic group, overall findings demonstrated no statistically significant difference in pain experience between the two archwire materials.
Orthodontic treatment often causes significant initial discomfort, which can negatively affect patient compliance and satisfaction. By showing that Super Elastic and Copper Nickel-Titanium archwires yield equivalent overall pain experiences, this evidence reassures practitioners that clinical choice between these two widely used materials does not compromise patient comfort during the initial alignment phase.
The findings are directly applied and clinically tested, offering actionable comparative guidance for dental practitioners and orthodontic product manufacturers. Because both archwire types induce similar pain levels, dental clinics and purchasing managers can base procurement decisions on factors such as cost, handling qualities, and availability rather than concerns over differing patient comfort levels.
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Introduction: Pain and discomfort associated with teeth movement during the early phase of orthodontic treatment are major concerns for many orthodontic patients. The aim of this study was to compare the pain experience among patient undergoing orthodontic treatment using Super Elastic NiTi (SE NiTi) and Copper NiTi (Cu NiTi) arch-wires during the alignment phase. Materials and Methods: A prospective randomized study was carried out among patients who were in the alignment stage of fixed orthodontic treatment, using two different types of arch wires, SE NiTi or Cu NiTi. Eight-six participants were recruited conveniently in the study, and randomly allocated to either of the study groups. Fixed orthodontic treatment was then initiated with 0.014-inch archwire in both groups. Participants were followed for pain assessment using a modified McGill Pain Questionnaire with Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for the duration of 7 days. Data were analyzed by SPSS Statistics version 25 with a p-value set at <0.05. Pain comparison between two groups was done using Wilcoxon Signed Rank test and Mann Whitney U test. Results: Three participants were lost to follow up and one participant was omitted from the analysis. Therefore, total of 82 participants were analyzed, 41 participants from each of the study group. Participants from both groups reported pain experience during the initial phase of fixed orthodontic treatment. The pain experience was highest 6 to 12 hours after insertion of the initial archwires in both groups. The majority of the participants reported a gradual decrease in pain intensity over time, with the rate of decline been relatively faster in SE-NiTi group. Conclusion: There was no significant difference between SE NiTi and Cu NiTi in pain experience.
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DOI: 10.3126/ojn.v15i1.74681
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