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Dental TribuneAsia Pacific Edition | 10/2015 WORLD NEWS 05 By DTI MAINZ, Germany: In recent years, clear aligners have become a favourable treatment alternative in orthodontics to fixed ortho- dontic appliances (FOA). However, there are few studies about the ef- fects of aligner treatment on oral hygiene and gingival condition. A team of German researchers has now compared the oral health sta- tus, oral hygiene and treatment satisfaction of patients treated with FOA and the Invisalign aligner system. They found that Invisalign patients have better periodontal health and greater satisfaction during orthodontic treatment. Todate,themajorityofpatients, particularlyduringchildhoodand adolescence, are treated with FOA. However, these appliances tend to complicate oral hygiene and thus interfere with patients’ periodon- tal health. Moreover, treatment with FOA is not very popular in adult orthodontics for aesthetic reasons. Therefore, other ortho- dontic techniques have been de- velopedtoimproveaestheticsand simplify oral hygiene procedures. AnalternativetoFOAisclearalign- ers, which are discreet and have the advantage of being removable during oral hygiene and eating or drinking. The use of clear aligners has increased greatly in the last decade, one prominent example being Invisalign, produced by Align Technology since 1999. However,onlyalimitednumberof studies have compared the effects of Invisalign and FOA on oral hy- giene, the researchers from the Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz pointed out. Their study included 100 pa- tients who underwent orthodontic treatment,dividedequallybetween FOA and Invisalign, for more than six months. The researchers per- formed clinical examinations before and after treatment to evaluate the patients’ periodon- tal condition and any changes. Furthermore, a detailed ques- tionnaire assessed the patients’ personal oral hygiene and dietary habits, as well as satisfaction with the treatment. All of the patients received the same oral hygiene instructions before and during orthodontic treatment. This in- cludedtheuseoftoothbrush,den- tal floss and interdental brushes three times daily. Thedataanalysisshowednodif- ferences between the two groups regarding periodontal health and oral hygiene prior to the ortho- dontic treatment. However, the researchers observed notable changes in periodontal condition inbothgroupsduringorthodontic treatment. They found that gin- gival health was significantly better in patients treated with Invisalign, and the amount of dental plaque was also less but not significantly different compared with FOA patients. The questionnaire results showed greater satisfaction in patients treated with Invisalign. Only 6 per cent of the Invisalign patients reported impairment of their general well-being during orthodontictreatment,compared with 36 per cent of the FOA pa- tients. Other negative effects that also were significantly higher in FOA patients included gingi- val irritation (FOA: 56 per cent; Invisalign: 14 per cent), being kept from laughing for aesthetic rea- sons (FOA: 26 per cent; Invisalign: 6 per cent), having to change eating habits during orthodontic treatment (FOA: 70 per cent; Invisalign: 50 per cent), and hav- ing to brush one’s teeth for longer and more often (FOA: 84 per cent; Invisalign: 52 per cent). The researchers concluded that orthodontic treatment with Invisalign has significantly lower negative impacts on a patient’s condition than treatment with FOA, both with regard to gingival health and overall well-being. AD Clear aligners more beneficial than braces DTAP1015_05_Aligners 14.10.15 09:09 Seite 1 DTAP1015_05_Aligners 14.10.1509:09 Seite 1