Perceived pain during rapid maxillary expansion in children with different expanders.
OBJECTIVES
To evaluate and compare the intensity of pain caused by rapid maxillary expansion (RME) with two expanders: Hyrax and Haas type, in growing patients.


MATERIALS AND METHODS
Thirty-nine patients (23 girls and 16 boys) with an average age of 9.3 years (SD = 1.39 years) were randomized into two groups and treated with Hyrax- and Haas-type expanders. In both groups, initial activation of the expander screw was one full turn on the first day followed by 2/4 of a turn two times a day (morning and night) for 7 days. Inclusion criteria were patients presenting with a posterior crossbite or maxillary atresia between 7 and 12 years old. To evaluate the intensity of pain during the active phase of the treatment, a combination of the Numerical Rating Scale and Wong-Baker Faces Pain Scale was used. Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the two treatment groups.


RESULTS
There was significant inverse correlation between days following insertion and pain. During the expansion period, 100% of the children reported some pain. Hyrax expander subjects reported greater pain than those treated with the Haas-type expander only on the first day. The level of pain remained greater in girls throughout treatment.


CONCLUSIONS
Pain was reported regardless of the type of expander and was higher in the Hyrax group only on the first day of activation.
['de Araújo|Marília Carolina|MC|', 'Bocato|Jessica Rico|JR|', 'Berger|Sandrine Bittencourt|SB|', 'Oltramari|Paula Vanessa Pedron|PVP|', 'de Castro Ferreira Conti|Ana Cláudia|AC|', 'de Almeida|Marcio Rodrigues|MR|', 'Freire Fernandes|Thais Maria|TM|']
D000818:Animals D002648:Child D005260:Female D006801:Humans D007043:Hyraxes D008297:Male D008437:Maxilla D010146:Pain D058748:Pain Perception D010155:Palatal Expansion Technique
Pain Maxillary expansion Pain scale