Abstract

BACKGROUND Pain and discomfort are common during orthodontic treatment. AIM The aim of this single blind clinical trial was to compare the effectiveness of oral calcium versus acetaminophen in pain reduction. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this study, the patients recorded their pain on a 100-mm visual analogue scale (VAS). Forty female patients (14-19 years old) who had passed at least 2 months of their first orthodontic archwire placement and their pain intensity was 40-100 mm (VAS) were selected and randomly assigned to two groups. Psychotic status was measured using Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). In group 1 calcium forte tablets (500 mg) and in group 2 acetaminophen (325 mg) tablets were prescribed to be taken one tablet per day. After consumption of all tablets (n=60), pain intensity was measured and compared with that before drug therapy. RESULTS The results indicated that the difference in pain intensity before and after drug administration in the calcium group was statistically significant (P<0.001), but not significant in the acetaminophen group (P=0.468). The difference between the pain reduction in the two groups were also statistically significant (P<0.001). In the calcium group 9.5% and in the acetaminophen group 15.8% had anxiety that was not statistically significant (P=0.631). In both groups, no subject had depression. CONCLUSION Calcium is more effective than acetaminophen in long-term pain reduction during orthodontic treatment.