The relationship between personality traits, pain perception and attitude toward orthodontic treatment.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate the relationship between personality traits and a person's attitude toward orthodontic treatment and perception of pain during orthodontic treatment.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The sample consisted of two groups: group 1 consisted of 200 untreated subjects (100 males, 100 females; average age, 21.50 +/- 3.35 years), and group 2 consisted of 200 treated subjects (100 males, 100 females; average age, 20.92 +/- 2.48 years). The instrument for data collection was a questionnaire that included assessment of patients' personality profiles, pain expectation for untreated subjects, pain experience for treated subjects, and attitudes toward orthodontic treatment.

RESULTS

Gender, treatment status, and personality traits did not affect subjects' average attitude toward orthodontic treatment, whereas gender was the only variable that affected subjects' average pain perception (P < .01). The average attitude score in subjects who experienced pain during orthodontic treatment was 5.06 +/- 1.43, compared to 4.32 +/- 1.35 for subjects who did not experience pain (P < .001). The average pain perception scores in treated subjects with previous knowledge of orthodontic treatment was 5.29 +/- 1.94, compared to 6.07 +/- 1.95 in subjects who did not have previous knowledge of orthodontic treatment (P < .01).

CONCLUSIONS

Personality traits did not affect attitude toward orthodontic treatment and pain perception/experience during orthodontic treatment. A more positive attitude was found in patients who experienced less pain during orthodontic treatment.