Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, 1998. / Added t.p. with thesis statement inserted.

Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Queensland, 2006. / Includes bibliography.

OBJECTIVES: 1) To measure the prevalence of precipitating events in pediatric chronic pain patients and 2) to compare pain and functional disability outcomes at evaluation and 4-month follow-up by presence and type of precipitating event. METHODS: Precipitating events (e.g., injury) were coded from the medical record for 401 youth (6-19) who presented to a tertiary care chronic pain clinic. Four-month follow-up disability and pain were collected for 187 patients. In addition to frequency of events, we examined differences in pain and disability measures by event type at evaluation and follow-up using multiple statistical analysis strategies. RESULTS: Two-thirds of patients had a precipitating event prior to pain onset. Injury was the most common (55%), followed by chronic disease (23%), infection/illness (12.8%), and surgery (7.5%). Patients whose pain was triggered by injury reported the highest average pain levels, F(3, 340)=2.67, p<.05 and functional disability, F(3, 295)=3.54, p<.05. There were multiple cases of event groups that had significantly different baseline and follow-up psychological measures when compared to the rest of the patient population. Trajectories of pain and disability did not differ between patients with and without a precipitating event. Patients with injuries reported greater improvement in functional disability at follow-up (time x injury) F(1, 183)=4.88, p<.05 whereas patients with chronic disease reported less improvement in disability (time x chronic disease), F(1, 183)=5.49, p<.05. No other interactions were significant for disability or pain. CONCLUSIONS: A majority of patients had experienced some form of precipitating event prior to their pain onset, and the presence of a precipitating event had varied effects on the treatment outcomes of patients at four-month follow-up. Although patients with injuries presented with greater disability and pain, they had significantly more improvement, while chronic disease patients were less likely to improve in terms of functional disability. Type of precipitating event appears to be associated with treatment response and can inform clinical prognoses.

Persistent postsurgical pain (PPSP) is reported as recurrent and frequently disabling complication of many surgical procedures. The consequences for PPSP not only reduce the quality of life for patients but also financially tax the health care system, considering the volume of surgical procedures performed annually. Development of chronic pain has been proposed to involve a complex pathophysiology combined with pre-, intra-, and post-operative risk factors. There is no definite recommendation on which factor to assess (in which surgery) and what tools to utilize for conducting a study on PPSP, since many recognized risk factors for PPSP are contradictory. For a comprehensive overview of major PPSP risk factors for identification and possible prevention, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of the published literature on the risk factors across six major surgical groups: breast surgery, chest/thoracic surgery, total hip arthroplasty/total knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA), gynecologic surgery, iliac crest bone harvest (ICBH), and groin hernia repair. Furthermore, to assess the generalizability of the meta-analysis results, we sought to conduct a retrospective, cross-sectional study examining the prevalence and major risk factors of PPSP after cystectomy for bladder cancer. The meta-analysis found that no single risk factor was associated with PPSP across all surgical groups. Age and previous surgery were found to be risk factors for PPSP in gynecologic surgery. For thoracic surgery, male sex and BMI were found as risk factors for PPSP. Surgical duration, presurgical chronic pain, and BMI were risk factors for groin hernia repair. The prevalence of PPSP in our cystectomy study was 22.1%. Female sex and presurgical chronic pain were risk factors significantly associated with PPSP after cystectomy. No risk factors were universally associated with PPSP. Persistent pain after each type of surgical procedure appear to have separate set risk factors among age, BMI, sex, previous surgery, and presurgical pain.

Neuromyelitis optica is a severe autoimmune neuroinflammatory disorder characterised by longitudinally extensive myelitis and severe optic neuritis. An oft-neglected symptom of the condition is severe, intractable chronic pain that can be detrimental to quality of life and is marked out by its severity and prevalence in comparison to the related disorder, multiple sclerosis. The experiments within this thesis make use of both conventional and advanced MRI techniques applied to the spinal cord and brain, and ¹H NMR spectroscopy of blood plasma to explore the mechanisms driving chronic pain in NMO. The principle findings are: i. Thoracic lesions are associated with greater pain, irrespective of lesion length or cervical lesion volume. They are associated with spinothalamic tract damage in the cervical cord that correlates with the severity of pain. A possible autonomic aetiology is proposed. ii. Periaqueductal grey (PAG) to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and to pregenual anterior cingulate cortex functional connectivity is correlated with pain severity, conversely PAG to rostroventromedial medulla connectivity is negatively associated with pain severity. Disruption of descending pain modulatory circuits is considered. iii. PAG glutamate concentration is negatively correlated with pain scores and is higher in low pain patients compared to controls and high pain patients. The discussion includes consideration of pain vulnerability. Chronic pain in NMO can devastate lives. The studies undertaken in this thesis are some of the earliest MRI imaging studies directed at understanding pain in NMO and the association of pain with thoracic lesions and the aberrations in the descending pain modulatory network are novel findings. There is more to be done and my hope is that this body of work will serve as a stepping-stone to a better understanding of chronic pain in NMO and the future development of effective treatments.

Introdução: A dor é o principal motivo de procura ao atendimento médico. Organizações internacionais de saúde indicam o alívio da dor como um direito humano básico. A literatura indica subutilização de opioides devido ao conhecimento insuficiente, o receio quanto ao potencial de adição, efeitos adversos e mitos persistentes sobre estes analgésicos por parte dos profissionais de saúde. Objetivo: Avaliar grau de conhecimento de profissionais de saúde no manejo da dor e no uso de opioides em três unidades pediátricas (Pediatria, UTI e Oncologia). Metodologia: Estudo transversal realizado em um hospital universitário do Sul do Brasil. Um questionário autoaplicável foi entregue para 182 profissionais (médicos, enfermeiros, farmacêuticos, técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem), entre dezembro de 2011 e março de 2012. Resultados: A taxa de retorno foi de 67% (122). O percentual médio de acertos foi de 63,2 ± 1,4%. Os erros mais frequentes foram: um opioide não deve ser utilizado sem se saber a causa da dor (47%; 54/115); pacientes desenvolvem depressão respiratória frequentemente (42,3%; 22/52) e confusão entre os sintomas da síndrome de abstinência, tolerância e dependência (81,9%; 95/116). Apenas 8,8% (10/114) relataram o uso de escalas de dor para reconhecer a dor em crianças. A barreira para o controle da dor mais citada foi a dificuldade de medir e localizar a dor em pacientes pediátricos. Finalmente, 50,8% (62/122) não receberam nenhum treinamento sobre dor. Conclusões: Foram identificados problemas nos processos de identificação, mensuração e tratamento da dor. Os resultados sugerem a necessidade de investimento na formação continuada dos profissionais e no desenvolvimento de protocolos que busquem aperfeiçoar a terapia analgésica, impedindo um aumento desnecessário do sofrimento da criança. / Introduction: Pain is the main reason to seek medical care. Health international organizations indicate pain relief as a basic human right. The literature indicates underuse of opioids due to insufficient knowledge, fears about the potential for addiction, side effects and persistent myths about these analgesics by health professionals. Objective: To assess degree of knowledge and attitudes of health professionals about management of pain in three pediatric units (Pediatric, ICU and Oncology). Methods: Cross-sectional study in a teaching hospital in southern Brazil. A self-administered questionnaire was delivered to 182 professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians and nursing assistants), between December 2011 and March 2012. Results: The rate of return was 67% (122). The average percentage of correct responses was 63.2 ± 1.4%. The most frequent errors were: an opioid should not be used without knowing the cause of pain (47%, 54/115); patients often develop respiratory depression (42.3%, 22/52); and confusion between symptoms of the syndrome withdrawal, tolerance and dependence (81.9%, 95/116). Only 8.8% (10/114) reported using pain scales to recognize pain in children. The barrier to pain control most cited was the difficulty to measure and locate the pain in pediatric patients. Finally, 50.8% (62/122) received no training on pain. Conclusions: The study identified problems in the process of recognizing, measuring and treating pain. The results suggest the need for investment in training to health care team and development of protocols that seek to optimize analgesic therapy, preventing an unnecessary increase the suffering of the child.

Introdução: A dor é o principal motivo de procura ao atendimento médico. Organizações internacionais de saúde indicam o alívio da dor como um direito humano básico. A literatura indica subutilização de opioides devido ao conhecimento insuficiente, o receio quanto ao potencial de adição, efeitos adversos e mitos persistentes sobre estes analgésicos por parte dos profissionais de saúde. Objetivo: Avaliar grau de conhecimento de profissionais de saúde no manejo da dor e no uso de opioides em três unidades pediátricas (Pediatria, UTI e Oncologia). Metodologia: Estudo transversal realizado em um hospital universitário do Sul do Brasil. Um questionário autoaplicável foi entregue para 182 profissionais (médicos, enfermeiros, farmacêuticos, técnicos e auxiliares de enfermagem), entre dezembro de 2011 e março de 2012. Resultados: A taxa de retorno foi de 67% (122). O percentual médio de acertos foi de 63,2 ± 1,4%. Os erros mais frequentes foram: um opioide não deve ser utilizado sem se saber a causa da dor (47%; 54/115); pacientes desenvolvem depressão respiratória frequentemente (42,3%; 22/52) e confusão entre os sintomas da síndrome de abstinência, tolerância e dependência (81,9%; 95/116). Apenas 8,8% (10/114) relataram o uso de escalas de dor para reconhecer a dor em crianças. A barreira para o controle da dor mais citada foi a dificuldade de medir e localizar a dor em pacientes pediátricos. Finalmente, 50,8% (62/122) não receberam nenhum treinamento sobre dor. Conclusões: Foram identificados problemas nos processos de identificação, mensuração e tratamento da dor. Os resultados sugerem a necessidade de investimento na formação continuada dos profissionais e no desenvolvimento de protocolos que busquem aperfeiçoar a terapia analgésica, impedindo um aumento desnecessário do sofrimento da criança. / Introduction: Pain is the main reason to seek medical care. Health international organizations indicate pain relief as a basic human right. The literature indicates underuse of opioids due to insufficient knowledge, fears about the potential for addiction, side effects and persistent myths about these analgesics by health professionals. Objective: To assess degree of knowledge and attitudes of health professionals about management of pain in three pediatric units (Pediatric, ICU and Oncology). Methods: Cross-sectional study in a teaching hospital in southern Brazil. A self-administered questionnaire was delivered to 182 professionals (doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians and nursing assistants), between December 2011 and March 2012. Results: The rate of return was 67% (122). The average percentage of correct responses was 63.2 ± 1.4%. The most frequent errors were: an opioid should not be used without knowing the cause of pain (47%, 54/115); patients often develop respiratory depression (42.3%, 22/52); and confusion between symptoms of the syndrome withdrawal, tolerance and dependence (81.9%, 95/116). Only 8.8% (10/114) reported using pain scales to recognize pain in children. The barrier to pain control most cited was the difficulty to measure and locate the pain in pediatric patients. Finally, 50.8% (62/122) received no training on pain. Conclusions: The study identified problems in the process of recognizing, measuring and treating pain. The results suggest the need for investment in training to health care team and development of protocols that seek to optimize analgesic therapy, preventing an unnecessary increase the suffering of the child.

Orientador: Maria Helena Baena de Moraes Lopes / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Ciencias Medicas / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-14T01:01:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Nilsen_EveniseCileneGuarino_M.pdf: 1623030 bytes, checksum: 07d4baec8707f1aa4b91adfb22f06809 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2009 / Resumo: Apesar de não estarem ainda definitivamente determinados os mecanismos da dor durante a parturição, acredita-se que ela seja causada pelo mecanismo fisiológico do trabalho de parto; sabe-se ainda que a dor influencia o comportamento das mulheres durante este período. Este estudo teve como propósito avaliar a intensidade da sensação dolorosa e o comportamento, durante o trabalho de parto e parto, de mulheres que tiveram parto normal, sem analgesia, nas posições semi-sentada, decúbito lateral esquerdo e litotomia. Trata-se de um estudo descritivo, transversal e correlacional. Foram aplicados no puerpério imediato um questionário adaptado e validado e duas escalas de dor (Escala Analógica Visual - EAV e Escala Alfanumérica - EAN). Foi criado um banco de dados no programa Excel 6.0 da Microsoft. Para análise foram utilizados os testes de Qui-quadrado, Exato de Fisher, McNemar, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon pareado (Wilcoxon Signed Rank-Test) e coeficiente de correlação de Spearman. Para avaliar a dor nas diferentes posições e em cada momento (trabalho de parto e parto) utilizou-se uma transformação matemática (BOXCOX) para obter distribuição normal dos dados, a fim de utilizar a ANCOVA (analise de covariância) para realizar análise com ajuste de variáveis não homogêneas entre as diferentes posições. O nível de significância foi de 5% e foi usado o software SAS versão 9.1.3. A dor diferiu entre as posições DLE e litotomia (EAV: p=0,003; EAN: p=0,0003), ou seja, as mulheres que tiveram o parto em posição de litotomia apresentaram menos dor, o que não pode ser explicado pela duração do período expulsivo, que foi semelhante para as três posições de parto (p=0,171). A dor estava associada com o comportamento nos dois momentos, quanto pior a dor, pior foi o comportamento. De forma semelhante, a dor no trabalho de parto estava associada com a dor no parto (p<0,0001), bem como o comportamento nos dois momentos (p<0,0001). O comportamento durante o trabalho de parto e parto, nas diferentes posições, apresentou diferença entre os grupos (p=0,0002 e p=0,044, respectivamente); uma maior proporção de mulheres referiram comportamento "excelente" ou "muito bom" no trabalho de parto e parto no grupo que teve parto na posição DLE. Houve associação tanto entre o questionário e a escala EAV, quanto entre o questionário e a EAN, no trabalho de parto (p<0,0001, para ambas) e no parto (p=0,0003 e p=0,0027, para EAV e EAN, respectivamente). As escalas EAV e EAN mostraram forte correlação positiva (r= 0,8361 p<0.0001, no trabalho de parto; r= 0,8102 p<0.0001, no parto). Portanto, concluiu-se que: a dor no trabalho de parto e no parto é considerada como suportável e dificilmente suportável; os instrumentos usados avaliam de forma equivalente a dor, sendo que o EAV e o EAN foram mais adequados para identificar diferenças; existe associação entre intensidade da sensação dolorosa e o comportamento; a dor nos dois períodos estava associada, bem como o comportamento; a dor em mulheres que tiveram parto na posição de litotomia foi menor em comparação às que tiveram o parto em DLE, e o tempo de duração do período expulsivo não explica esta diferença. Recomenda-se, portanto, estudos prospectivos, randomizados e controlados para confirmar ou não esses achados. / Abstract: Besides not being still definitely determined the mechanisms of pain during delivery, it is believed that it is caused by the physiological delivery labor, it is still known that the pain influences the women behavior during this period. This study had as purpose to evaluate the intensity of the painful sensation and the women behavior during the delivery labor and delivery, the women who had normal delivery without analgesia in the semi-sat position, left sided decubitus and lithotomy. It's about a descriptive, transversal and co relational study. It was applied in the immediate puerperium, an adapted and validated questionnaire and 2 pain scales (Visual Analogic Scale and Alphanumeric Scale EAN). It was created a database in the Microsoft Excel Program 6.0. For analysis it was used the tests of Chi-Square, Exact of Fisher, Mcnemar, Kruskal-Wallis, paired Wilcoxon (Wilcoxon Signed Rank-test) and the correlation coefficient of Spearman. To evaluate the pain in different positions and in each moment (delivery labor and delivery) it was used a math transformation (BOXCOX) to obtain normal data distribution, in order to use an ANCOVA (covariance analysis) to analyze with adjust of non homogenous variables among different positions. The significance level was 5% and the software SAS version 9.1.3.The pain differed between the positions DLE and lithotomy (EAV : p=0.003; EAN: p=0.0003), that is, the women who had the delivery in the lithotomy position presented less pain, what cannot be explained during the expulsive period, that was similar for the three delivery positions (p=0.171). The pain was associated with the behavior in two moments, worse the pain, worse was the behavior. In a similar way, the pain of delivery labor was associated with delivery labor (p<0.0001) as well as the behavior in both moments (p<0.001) The behavior during the delivery labor and delivery, in the different positions, presented differences between the groups (p=0.0002 and p=0.044, respectively); a bigger proportion of women referred 'excellent' or 'very good' behavior in the delivery labor and delivery in the group that had the delivery in the position DLE. There was association between the questionnaire and the scale EAV, and between the questionnaire and the EAV, in the delivery labor (p=0.0001, for both) and in the delivery (p=0.0003 and p=0.0027, for EAV and EAN respectively). The scales EAV and EAN showed strong positive correlation (r=0.8361 p<0.001, in the delivery labor; r= 0.8102 p< 0.0001, in the delivery). So, it was concluded that the pain in the delivery labor and delivery is bearable and hardly bearable; the instruments used evaluate the pain in an equivalent way, being that the EAV and EAN were more adequate to identify differences; there is association between painful sensation intensity and the behavior; the pain in both periods was associated, as well as the behavior; the pain in women who had delivery in the lithotomy position was smaller in comparison to the ones who had delivery in DLE and the time during the expulsive period does not explain this difference. It is recommended, however, prospective studies randomized and controlled to confirm or not these findings. / Mestrado / Enfermagem e Trabalho / Mestre em Enfermagem

O objetivo geral deste estudo foi avaliar a dor crônica advinda de diferentes tipos de cânceres. Os objetivos específicos foram descrever as características sociais dos participantes, caracterizar a dor percebida por meio de indicadores específicos e identificar os 10 descritores de dor crônica de maior e menor atribuição conforme a percepção da amostra. Participaram do estudo 45 mulheres com câncer de mama, 45 homens com câncer de próstata e 60 indivíduos de ambos os sexos com câncer de sistema digestivo. Para a mensuração da dor foram utilizados os 50 descritores de dor crônica que compõem a Escala Multidimensional de Avaliação de Dor (EMADOR), utilizando-se o método psicofísico de estimação de categorias. Os resultados da caracterização social das 3 amostras foram: a média de idade foi de 60 anos, 54% eram do gênero masculino, 58,7% casados, 65,3% pertencentes à religião católica e 50,6% tinham ensino fundamental completo. Na caracterização da dor foi evidenciado que, referente ao sítio primário do tumor, 30% estavam localizados na mama, 30% na próstata e 14,7% no estômago. O início da queixa dolorosa ocorreu em 40,7% dos participantes antes do diagnóstico da doença, 52,7% relataram somente 1 sítio de dor e 55,4% relataram que a mesma era intermitente. A intensidade da dor atribuída nas 3 amostras, considerando a média aritmética, demonstrou que os participantes com tumores de sistema digestivo reportaram os maiores escores (7,58 ± 2,59) e 26,6% desta amostra relataram escores acima de 8 para todos os descritores apresentados. Na avaliação dos descritores 10 descritores de maior atribuição foi observado que, 5 estavam presentes nas 3 amostras: -dolorosa?, -desconfortável?, -chata?, -desagradável? e o descritor -incômoda?, o qual foi o mais atribuído tanto pelos participantes com câncer de sistema digestivo quanto pelos participantes com câncer de próstata, demonstrando a similaridade da linguagem da dor nos diferentes grupos. Sobre a dimensão dos descritores de maior atribuição nas 3 amostras houve predomínio de descritores de dor crônica que caracterizaram a dimensão afetiva (50%), seguido pelos de dimensão cognitiva (26,6%) e pelos de dimensão sensitiva (23,3%). Concluímos que, mesmo sendo a dor oncológica um fenômeno considerado individual, multidimensional com comprometimento em diversos domínios da vida, a sua linguagem apresenta semelhança independente do sítio do tumor e do gênero e a dimensão afetiva da dor deve ser melhor explorada nas avaliações clínicas. / The aim general of this study was to evaluate chronic pain arising from different types of cancers. The specific objectives were to describe the social characteristics of the participants, to characterize the pain perceived by specific indicators and descriptors to identify the 10 major and minor award chronic cancer pain as perceived in the sample. The study included 45 women with breast cancer, 45 men with prostate cancer and 60 individuals of both sexes with cancers of the digestive system. For the measurement of pain were used 50 descriptors of chronic pain comprising the Multidimensional Pain Evaluation Scale (EMADOR), using the psychophysical method of category estimation. The results of the social characterization of the 3 samples were mean age was 60 years, 54% were male, 58.7% married, 65.3% belonging to the Catholic area and 50.6% had completed elementary education as schooling. The characterization of pain was evident that, for the primary tumor site 30% were located in the breast, prostate 30% and 14.7% in the stomach. The onset of pain complaint occurred in 40.7% of the participants before the diagnosis of disease, 52.7% reported only one site of pain and 55.4% reported that it was intermittent. Pain intensity given in three samples, considering the arithmetic mean, showed that participants with tumors of the digestive system report higher scores (7.58 ± 2.59) and 26.6% of this sample reported scores above average in 8 arithmetic mean of all the descriptors presented. In the evaluation of the descriptors was seen observed that among the 10 descriptors with higher scores, five were present in three samples: \"painful,\" \"uncomfortable\", \"boring,\" \"unpleasant,\" and the descriptor \"incommode? that was the longer assigned by both the participants with cancer of the digestive system and by the participants with prostate cancer, demonstrating the similarity of the language of pain in different groups. The dimension of descriptors with higher scores in three groups, there was a predominance of chronic pain descriptors that characterize the affective dimension (50%), followed by the cognitive dimension (26.6%) and size sensitive (23.3%). We conclude that even though cancer pain phenomenon considered an individual, multidimensional impairment in several areas of life, their language has similarities regardless of tumor site and gender, and affective dimension of pain should be further explored in the clinical ratings.

O objetivo dessa tese foi avaliar alguns desses fatores, verificar a influência da ortodontia sobre alterações oclusais, limiares de dor à pressão da região orofacial, hábitos orais parafuncionais, e percepção de qualidade de vida. Foram selecionados 111 pacientes com idade entre 13 e 55 anos e ausência de sintomas de DTM que iniciaram terapia ortodôntica corretiva. O experimento foi dividido em três etapas: t1 (no momento da instalação do aparelho), t2 (2 meses após o início do tratamento), e t3 (6 meses após o início do tratamento). Em todas etapas os pacientes foram examinados clinicamente para avaliação oclusal e seus limiares de dor à pressão foram avaliados com um algômetro digital. Também foram aplicados questionários sobre hábitos orais parafuncionais (OBC) e percepção de saúde oral na qualidade de vida (OHIP-14br). Foram feitas comparações a respeito de cada variável quantitativa considerando os três tempos de avaliação por meio de Análise de variância (ANOVA) a um critério. O teste t foi utilizado para avaliar diferenças entre as médias das variáveis quantitativas no tempo inicial (t1) e tempo final (t3) de avaliação. Para avaliar o efeito da ortodontia sobre variáveis qualitativas oclusais foi utilizado o teste exato de Fisher. Foram considerados estatisticamente significantes aqueles resultados que apresentaram nível de significância igual ou menor que 0,05. Nenhum dos 111 pacientes desenvolveram sintomas de DTM até o momento final de avaliação. Não foram observadas mudanças oclusais quantitativas significativas (p>0,05) entre t1 e t3, no entanto os fatores qualitativos como mudanças nos padrões oclusais foram alterados significativamente (p<0,05). O tratamento ortodôntico não alterou os limiares de dor à pressão, mas foi observado um aumento significativo (p<0,05) nos escores de OHIP entre os períodos t1 e t3. O tratamento ortodôntico também não aumentou ou diminuiu a presença de hábitos orais parafuncionais, e não foram encontradas diferenças entre sexo e Limear de Dor a Pressão (LDP) nos indivíduos que possuíam mais ou menos hábitos. No entanto, pacientes mais velhos relataram maiores escores de OBC, e foi encontrada correlação entre pacientes com maiores escores de OBC e menores escores para o OHIP. O estudo concluiu que a movimentação ortodôntica não teve efeito sobre limiares de dor na região orofacial e não influencia na presença de hábitos orais parafuncionais. No entanto, o tratamento ortodôntico teve um efeito positivo sobre a percepção de saúde oral na qualidade de vida. / The aim of this thesis was to evaluate some of these factors, examining the influence of orthodontics on occlusal changes, pain pressure thresholds of the orofacial region, parafunctional oral habits, and the perception of quality of life. 111 patients aged 13 to 55 that showed no signs or symptoms of TMD and began orthodontic treatment were selected. The experiment was divided into three phases: t1 (when the orthodontic device was installed), t2 (two months after the installation), and t3 (six months after the start of the treatment). At all phases, the patients were examined clinically for occlusal evaluation and their pain pressure thresholds were assessed with an analog algometer. They were also applied questionnaires on parafunctional oral habits (OBC) and perception of oral health on the quality of life (OHIP-14br). Comparisons were made with respect to each quantitative variable considering the three phases of evaluation through a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each variable. The t test was used to assess differences between the means of quantitative variables at baseline (T1) and the final evaluation (t3). To evaluate the effect of orthodontics on occlusal qualitative variables Fisher\'s exact test was used. Statistical significance was considered for those results with a significance level equal to or less than 0.05. None of the 111 patients developed symptoms of TMD within the evaluation time. No significant occlusal quantitative changes were observed (p> 0.05) between t1 and t3, however the qualitative factors considered as occlusal patterns were significantly changed (p <0.05). Orthodontic treatment did not alter pain pressure thresholds but a significant increase (p <0.05) in scores of OHIP was observed between phases t1 and t3. Orthodontic treatment did not increase or decrease the pesence of parafunctional oral habits, and no differences were found between sex and LDP in individuals who possessed more/less parafunctional habits. However, older patients reported higher OBC scores, and correlation was found between patients with higher OBC scores and lower scores for OHIP. The study concluded that orthodontic treatment did not have an effect on orofacial pain hresholds, nor the presence of parafunctional oral habits. The perception of oral health on quality of life improved significantly with treatment and patients with lessparafunctional oral habits presented a better quality of life.