Comparative Evaluation of Pain Perception and Gingival Index in Elastic and Kesling Separators-A Prospective Study Premkumar K.S.1, Young A John Wilfred2,*, Sumalatha S.3, Narendran N.4 1Professor & Head of the Department Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial orthopaedics, Best Dental Science College and Hospital, Ultra Nagar, Madurai-Chennai Highway, Madurai 2Post graduate Student, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial orthopaedics, Best Dental Science College and Hospital, Ultra Nagar, Madurai-Chennai Highway, Madurai 3Reader, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial orthopaedics, Best Dental Science College and Hospital, Ultra Nagar, Madurai-Chennai Highway, Madurai 4Senior Lecturer, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial orthopaedics, Best Dental Science College and Hospital, Ultra Nagar, Madurai-Chennai Highway, Madurai *Corresponding author: Dr. A. John Wilfred Young, Post Graduate Student, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial orthopaedics, Best Dental Science College and Hospital, Ultra Nagar, Madurai-Chennai Highway, Madurai, TamilNadu, Pincode: 625104, Email: dr.johnwilfredyoung@gmail.com, Phone: 9994860675
Online published on 6 April, 2019. Abstract Background Pain is an important aspect that affects the willingness for orthodontic treatment since pain is experienced from the day one of separator placement till the end of the treatment. Patients hardly like to continue the orthodontic treatment. Separators are placed to create interproximal space for bands. Objective The objective of the study was to assess the relationship of pain in two types of separators among the patients. To compare the difference of pain perception and gingival index in male and female. To compare the pain perception and gingival index in patients with Keslings with that of patients with Elastics Method The study group comprised of 32 patients with Elastic separators (case group) and Kesling separators. The pain perception and gingival index of the cases were recorded using a questionnaire with a Visual Analog Scale (VAS). Two types of separators were given and patients were assessed after 1 week. The questionnaire was completed and the gingival index was noted. The data collected was statistically analyzed using t-test, Mann Whitney test and Wilcoxon signed rank test. Results This study has shown a statistical significant difference between males and females with elastic separators (p-value = 0.000). Thus females of elastic group experienced more pain than males. On comparing the pain experienced by females and males in kesling group, it was statistically insignificant. Since the (P value was 0.113 which was greater than 0.05). (Mann-Whitney u-test-87.000, p value-0.83, there was no significant difference in level of pain experienced between elastic group and kesling group. since the P-value was 0.079 which was greater than 0.05. (mean of elastic group-6.34, mean of kesling-5.19). Conclusion Choice of an ideal separator plays an important role for a successful completion of orthodontic treatment. By this study, it is concluded that both the elastic and Kesling separators has an influence in the gingival health of the patients. Top Keywords Orthodontic pain, Separators, Keslings, Elastics, Gingival Index, Male, Female, Visual Analog Scale. Top |