Perception of mini-screw anchorage devices by patients

To evaluate how mini-screw anchorage are perceived by patients as well as their degree of satisfaction regarding their orthodontic treatment.

A questionnaire was handed out to the study population which comprising 137 patients all undergoing orthodontic treatment, without exclusion criteria.

Out of the total number of 230 questionnaires distributed to patients, only 137 (60%) questionnaires were returned (sample 1) bearing in mind that 29 patients (21.2%) were fitted with a mini-screw (sample 2). In sample 2, 86.20% of patients showed no sign of mini-screw instability during treatment. The majority of patients (62.10%) reported no pain when the mini-screws were inserted (62.1%) and among the 37.9% who did feel pain, 60% were boys and 26.3% were girls, without significant difference, P<0.11. Post-op pain decreased steadily between day 1 and day 7 regardless of the orthodontic technique used (P>0.5). When pain was felt during the 7-day period, it was significantly greater for initial tooth alignment than for micro-implant surgery (P<0.05). Most patients declared themselves satisfied with the orthodontic treatment using anchorage devices, with a 72.4% satisfaction rate.

Overall, the use of mini-screw anchorage devices during orthodontic treatment is well accepted by patients. The stability rate is high with predictable results. Post-op pain is significantly lower than orthodontic alignment pain.