A comparison of two pain scales in the assessment of dental pain during initial phase of orthodontic treatment

The aim of this study is to assess pain in a group of orthodontics patients during initial leveling and aligning phase of orthodontic treatment and also to compare pain measurement techniques,that is,visual analogue scale (vas) and faces pain scale (fps). a cross-sectional study was conducted on 121 patients aged 19 to 25 years who had undergone initial leveling and aligning phase of orthodontic treatment. the patients were assessed for their pain sensitivity using vas and fps. the follow-up period was 1 month. outcome was assessed with using both scales at baseline and 8 pre-specified follow-up points (1h,6h,12h,1d,3d,7d,15d,1m). statistical analysis was performed using kolmogorov-smirnov,friedman,wilcoxon signed ranks and mann-whitney-u test,with the significance level set at 0.05. pain experienced by the patients started 1 h after initial arch wire placement,peaked after 1d,and subsequently declined approximately to baseline in 1-week to 1-month time period. mean vas values at baseline and at the end of 1 month was 0,0,3,6,9,9,0,0 and 0,respectively. mean fps values at baseline and at the end of 1 month was 0,0,3,3,5,5,0,0 and 0,respectively. there was no statistically significant difference between these two scales for mean average pain across all time points. eventhough there was no statistically significant difference between these two scales for mean average pain across all time points,the patients had more difficulty understanding the use of fps than that of vas. therefore,vas is considered the most reliable method of pain assessment. but,as an alternative,fps can be used interchangeably in assessment of pain during orthodontic treatment.