[The pain response of the tooth caused by placement of a labial archwire].

The incidence of pain and discomfort response of tooth caused by placement of a labial archwire was studied. The pain response was assessed in four degrees of pain index (score 0: no discomfort, score 1: discomfort, score 2: mild pain, score 3: severe pain). Materials consisted of 84 males and females with the permanent dentition from 10 years to 41 years. Results were as follows: 1) Of the 84 cases, 95.24 percent of them suffered from pain (mild pain: 26.19%, severe pain: 69.05%). 2) There was no significant difference in the pain response among the under 12 year old group, the 13 to 19 year old group and the over 20 year old group. 3) There was no significant difference in the pain response among the three kind of labial arch wire (0.014", 0.012" nickel titanium alloy wire and 0.015" braided wire). 4) The pain response was statistically higher in the female than in the male. 5) The pain response was observed in 8.75 percent of cases immediately after placement of archwire, and 31.25 percent 2 hours later, 41.25 percent by the end of the day. In 18.75 percent the pain response was observed next day. 6) Cases were sorted into 4 groups according to their highest score. In the severe pain group, the mean value of the severe pain response was 3.57 days, that of the mild pain response was 5.74 days and that of the discomfort response was 6.26 days. In the mild pain group, the mean value of the mild pain response was 3.68 days, and that of the discomfort response was 4.46 days.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)