Ecological momentary assessment of pain in adolescents undergoing orthodontic treatment using a smartphone app

Resting pain and chewing pain at the teeth rose steadily from baseline, peaked at approximately 20hours, then decreased gradually over the next two days. Details of the orthodontic adjustments were associated with the total pain experienced at the teeth, with new bond-ups resulting in significantly more pain than routine orthodontic adjustments. Pain levels were not significantly associated with age, gender, or time in treatment. This smartphone app shows promise in measuring orthodontic pain in the real world, and will aid future research projects which investigate various factors that could influence pain severity.