Many parents and patients are worried that orthodontic treatment will bring pain and discomfort to their children. Pain makes patients afraid of orthodontic treatment, or even give up orthodontic treatment. During orthodontic treatment, most patients will have different degrees of pain, especially during tooth separation, initial treatment and a few days after replacing archwire. After wearing the fixed appliance, the pain is most obvious when the arch wire is put in for the first time. The pain of most patients occurred from several hours to the third day after archwire ligation, accounting for about 85% of the total number of patients, and the pain of a few patients lasted from the eighth day to the 10 day.

In order to minimize the pain during orthodontic treatment, we should pay attention to the following points:

① When wearing the appliance for the first time, the teeth will feel slight pain, soreness and other discomfort, and dare not bite hard objects. This is a normal phenomenon and requires a period of adaptation.

② When the teeth are uncomfortable, don't chew hard food to avoid pain, but proper chewing can shorten the discomfort period;

③ Choose high-efficiency straight wire appliance, and patients with conditions can choose imported appliance.

④ It is suggested to use a special toothbrush for orthodontics, brush your teeth in the right way, and keep your teeth clean and hygienic, which can reduce the accumulation of acidic substances, thus reducing the discomfort when your teeth move.

⑤ Choose foods that are nutritious and easy to chew and digest during orthodontic treatment.

⑥ The discomfort of orthodontic teeth is mostly within the tolerable range. If you have abnormal pain, you should return to the clinic in time and treat the symptoms.

⑦ Aiming at the problem of tooth extraction pain. At present, we can choose efficient imported anesthetics, which can completely achieve painless tooth extraction and only need to alleviate psychological fear.

⑧ A few adult patients can take painkillers properly during this period of severe pain response.

Tutor: Zhang Yong, chief physician, tutor for master students, director of orthodontics department of Jinan Stomatological Hospital.