Thesis (M.Sc.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Oral and Dental Medicine - Department of Orthodontics

Patients rank pain as the worst aspect of orthodontic treatment, and it is the foremost reason for wanting to terminate the treatment. Pain and discomfort are of high prevalence during fixed orthodontic treatment and are reported to occur in 91{u2013} 95% of patients. Orthodontic patients expressed feeling pain during and after several procedures as separator placement, initial archwire placement, headgear use, rapid palatal expansion, chin cup use and debonding. These side effects may discourage patients or reduce their compliance during the course of treatment. Orthodontic pain reaches its peak intensity at 24 hours or 1 day after force application and lasts for the following one week. Analgesics such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen remain the most preferred and most commonly used method for managing orthodontic pain. Objectives The aim of this study was to compare the analgesic effectiveness of ibuprofen versus paracetamol during the initial stages of fixed orthodontic treatment and evaluate their effect on the rate of tooth movement through the performance of a systematic review to search and critically appraise the quality of the evidence available, based on a sound inclusion and exclusion criteria. Data sources Searching several electronic databases, grey literature and hand searching of multiple orthodontic journals. Study eligibility criteria Design Randomized controlled trials and quasi randomized controlled trials. Participants Patients undergoing the initial stages of fixed orthodontic treatment. Interventions Studies comparing analgesic effect of ibuprofen versus paracetamol Study appraisal and synthesis methods Two review authors (Assem Gamal and Sherif Elkordy) independently extracted data and performed the risk of bias assessment. We further contacted study authors to supply us with missing data

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