Daily impact of orthodontics treatment: clear aligner vs. fixed appliance

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to compare the impact on the daily lives of orthodontic patients treated with clear aligners and conventional fixed appliances in the first six months of treatment. Twenty adult patients were selected, divided equally into two groups. Patients came from a clinic specializing in orthodontics. All of them answered the Dental Impacts in Daily Life (DIDL) questionnaire in its basic form, which contains 36 questions in total. The groups were compared in terms of frequency in each response category (“not satisfied”, “relatively satisfied” and “very satisfied”) using the chi-square test, and about the total score in each domain using the Mann-Whitney test. There was no statistically significant difference (p>0.05) between the two groups. Therefore, in the first six months of treatment, the impact on the daily life of patients treated with conventional appliances was not different from that observed in patients treated with clear aligners.

Keywords: Orthodontic Appliances, Removable; Orthodontic Appliances, Fixed; Health Evaluation, Orthodontics, Patient Satisfaction.