Chewing gum vs. ibuprofen in the management of orthodontic pain, a multi-centre randomised controlled trial - the effect of anxiety.

Objectives: Pain is a common side effect of orthodontic treatment. An objective of this study, part of a large previously reported RCT on pain and analgesic use, was to determine the effect of anxiety on perceived pain and use of analgesia.

Methods: 1000 patients aged 11-17 years, undergoing upper and lower fixed appliance treatment in nine hospital departments were recruited into this two-arm parallel design randomised controlled trial.

Comparative assessment of chewing gum and ibuprofen in the management of orthodontic pain with fixed appliances: A pragmatic multicenter randomized controlled trial.

Introduction: The aim of this randomized trial was to investigate the effect of the use of a sugar-free chewing gum vs ibuprofen on reported pain in orthodontic patients.

Methods: This was a 2-arm parallel design randomized controlled trial in 9 sites in the southwest of England. Patients about to undergo orthodontic treatment with maxillary and mandibular fixed appliances were recruited and randomly allocated to an experimental chewing gum group or a control ibuprofen group.