The Effects of Ibuprofen and Laser on Orthodontic Pain

• Status: Completed
• Trial end date: 2018-08-01
• Target enrollment: 0
• Participant gender: All

Summary

Early orthodontic pain is usually caused by the insertion of elastomeric separators to the mesial and distal of the tooth to be banded in order to create adequate space for proper placement. Recent studies have demonstrated that the pain reaches its peak at 24 hours and then gradually decreases within 7 days The intensity of this pain is sometimes perceived as extremely high to cause a significant number of patients to discontinue the treatment.

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, which block the prostaglandin synthesis through inhibiting the cyclooxygenase activity, is one of the most common methods used to manage the orthodontic pain. It has been reported that these drugs decrease the orthodontic tooth movement rate, in addition to many systemic side effects such as gastric and duodenal ulceration, coagulation disorders, congestive heart problems and allergic effect.

The application of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) also reported being efficient in accelerating orthodontic tooth movement and in alleviating orthodontic pain without any apparent side effects. LLLT is thought to reduce the pain by increasing the local blood flow, inhibiting the secretion of inflammatory substances, inducing the release of neurotransmitters, altering the conduction and excitation of peripheral nerves and stimulating the endorphins release. On the other hand, literature review on the effectiveness of LLLT in alleviating orthodontic pain observed after elastomeric separator placement (ESP) exhibited conflicting results. While LLLT was found to be effective in some studies, the others refuted its effectiveness.

When studies on alleviating orthodontic pain observed after ESP were reviewed, it was determined that the effects of many drugs and LLLT were evaluated subjectively by VAS. Furthermore, only in one study, the effects of ibuprofen and LLLT were compared using PGE2 levels in GCF and VAS. Based on that, this study was aimed to compare the effects of ibuprofen and LLLT in alleviating orthodontic pain observed after ESP through IL-1β and SP levels in GCF and VAS.

• Phase: N/A
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers?: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Details

• Lead Sponsor: Yeşim KAYA
• Treatments: Ibuprofen

Criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

• Being older than 18 years of age,

• Requiring ESP at the beginning of orthodontic treatment for banding of maxillary first molars,

• Intact maxillary dentition (exception of third molars),

• Fully erupted maxillary first molars without any treated or not treated apical lesions,

• Tight contacts between the posterior teeth,

• No pregnancy and lactation,

• The absence of systemic and periodontal diseases and chronic or neural pains,

• Currently not using analgesics or antibiotics that interfere the pain perception,

• No contradiction to the use of ibuprofen,

• The absence of gingival pigmentation where the laser will be applied.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Previous orthodontic treatment,

• Falling to complete the questionnaire and to continue to the follow-up appointments.