Assessment of Pain, Anxiety, and Cortisol Levels During the Initial Aligning Phase of Fixed Orthodontic Treatment

Özet

Objective: We assessed pain and anxiety using psychological testing instruments (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, visualanalog scale) and a physiological testing instrument (salivary cortisol hormone level) after the insertion of orthodontic appliances andduring the initial alignment phase of orthodontic treatment.Methods: The study group involved two groups matched according to age and gender. Group 1 used 0.016-, 0.016×0.016-, and0.16×0.22-inch and Group 2 used 0.014-, 0.016-, and 0.016×0.016-inch superelastic nickel-titanium archwires in the initial alignmentphase of treatment. Pain and anxiety instruments were applied, and saliva samples were collected from the patients before and aftermolar band insertions, and bracket and initial archwire placement, and 7 days after the initial bonding and archwire replacements.Results: Cortisol levels and state anxiety scores revealed statistically significant differences within groups (p 0.05).Although not statistically significant, the most severe pain was measured in the posterior teeth after band insertion and in the anteriorteeth after the first archwire insertion (p>0.05).Conclusion: Orthodontic appliances and the initial alignment phase of orthodontic treatment affect patients’ anxiety and cortisolhormone levels. Both archwires were equally effective with regard to perceived pain, anxiety, and stress hormone levels.