The efficacy of chewing gum in the reduction of orthodontic pain at its peak intensity: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the efficacy of chewing gum on the intensity of pain in patients undergoing orthodontic treatment.

Materials and methods: A search strategy that included both a manual search and a search of electronic databases was implemented; the electronic databases included PubMed, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), ScienceDirect, Scopus, and EBSCO. Only randomized controlled trials were included in this study. All of the studies were assessed independently and in duplicate in accordance with the exclusion and inclusion criteria. The Cochrane risk of bias tool was used to evaluate the risk of bias within the included studies, and the GRADE approach was used to evaluate the certainty of evidence.

Results: Sixteen RCTs were included in the final analysis. The meta-analysis revealed that chewing gum significantly reduced pain intensity in comparison to pharmacologic agents (mean difference [MD] -0.50 [95% confidence interval {CI} -0.90 to -0.10], P = .01). When compared with a placebo, chewing gum significantly reduced pain intensity (MD -0.60 [95% CI -1.06 to -0.13], P = .01), while bite wafer and chewing gum groups had the same levels of reduction in pain intensity (MD -0.15 [95% CI -0.56 to 0.26], P = .48).

Conclusions: In patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment, chewing gum was significantly more effective than both pharmacologic agents and placebo in reducing orthodontic pain 24 hours after the initial placement of the archwire.

Keywords: Chewing gum; Orthodontic pain; Orthodontics; Pharmacologic interventions.