Can shielded brackets reduce mucosa alteration and increase comfort perception in orthodontic patients in the first 3 days of treatment? A single-blind randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: Orthodontic patients can experience pain and discomfort on the oral mucosa from trauma caused by friction with the brackets and the wires. In this split-mouth design, single-blind randomized controlled trial, we aimed to investigate whether brackets with a self-snapping customized plastic shield would induce less mucosa alteration and discomfort than those without the shield.

Methods: The overall sample comprised 42 patients (22 female, 20 male) from a government-funded orthodontic practice, with a mean age of 16.