CLEAR ALIGNERS

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As the demand for aesthetic treatments is increasing, more people are seeking alternatives to fixed orthodontic appliances. Clear aligners are an aesthetic and comfortable option for orthodontic treatment and have gained immense popularity over the last decade. 

The increase in the number of adult orthodontic patients has prompted an upsurge in the demand for aesthetic and comfortable alternatives to conventional fixed appliances. Clear aligners that satisfy this demand are also prone to rapid technological improvements in aligner materials and production techniques

Clear aligners provide an aesthetic and comfortable treatment experience, facilitate oral hygiene, cause less pain as compared to fixed orthodontic appliances, reduce the number and duration of appointments, and require fewer emergency visits 

Aligners made from thermoplastic materials via manual set up and systems using CAD-CAM technologies to design and produce aligners

Full arch impressions are taken and a working cast is obtained.

Aligners are produced in various thickness levels. The use of gradually thickening aligners provides more control on tooth movement and reduces the pain caused by orthodontic forces. With one set of impressions, two or three aligners of various thickness levels are produced, and the patient is instructed to use each aligner for 10 to 15 days.

Time efficiency is an important outcome to consider Total treatment time was found to be 67% lesser in the clear aligner group. The short duration of treatment with aligners was asserted with the absence of the finishing and detailing

As the number of adults treated with clear aligners increased, the periodontal effects of this treatment were found to be negative in the literature. Use of clear aligners facilitates oral hygiene, thus improving the periodontal status and causing a decrease in plaque levels, gingival inflammation, bleeding upon probing, and pocket depth

Aligners not only promote better oral hygiene, and better periodontal health but also reduce the plaque accumulation and the development of white spot lesions

• Clear aligners provide an aesthetic and comfortable option to conventional fixed mechanics.
• Obtaining periodontal health is easier in patients treated with clear aligners and less white spot lesions develop during the treatment.
• Clear aligners can be used in mild to moderate crowding cases but caution must be exercised in complex cases.
• Root resorption is still a risk associated with orthodontic treatment in aligner therapy, such as in fixed appliances.

Although the number and complexity of cases treated with clear aligners continue to increase, it is impossible to treat all kinds of malocclusions with this system. Aligners are convenient in mild to moderate crowding or diastema, posterior expansion, intrusion of one or two teeth, lower incisor extraction cases, and distal tipping of molars. Movements like extrusion, correction of severe rotations, molar up righting, and closure of extraction spaces are known to be more challenging to accomplish with aligners