Comparative mechanical testing for different orthodontic aligner materials over time - in vitro study

BACKGROUND: The purpose of the present study is to mechanically evaluate and compare the forces over 12 hours on different orthodontic aligners manufactured by Polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG). MATERIAL AND METHODS: Twelve orthodontic aligner specimens will be produced by a thermoforming laboratory vacuum machine. All specimens will be divided into two equal groups, group A representing Duran (Scheu Dental GmbH, Iserlohn, Germany) and group B representing Erkodur (Erkodent, Pfalzgrafenweiler, Germany). These specimens will be fabricated via CAD/CAM technology by scanning a Frasaco model (Henry Schein Dental, Gallin, Germany) using D 800 (3Shape, Copenhagen, Denmark) and printed via a Varseo S machine using Varseo ModelWax material (BEGO, Bremen, Germany). Group A specimens are manufactured by a Twinster thermoforming machine (Scheu Dental GmbH, Iserlohn, Germany) while group B is produced using Erkoform thermoforming machine (Erkodent, Pfalzgrafenweiler, Germany). Afterwards, a tooth will be removed from the printed model and replaced by an ivory tooth (Henry Schein Dental, Gallin, Germany) to apply forces at a predicted measured centre of resistance. The universal testing machine Z010 (ZwickRoell, Ulm, Germany) will be used for mechanical testing with 0.3 mm displacement over 12 hours. Statistical analysis was performed using Sigmaplot 13.0 (Systat Software GmbH, Erkrath, Germany). Behaviours over time were analysed using R2-regression analysis (SPSS 26.0, IBM SPSS Statistics, Armonk, USA). RESULTS: There is no statistically significant difference in the maximum force between both groups (p=0.071). The mechanical testing over 12 hours showed cubic properties. CONCLUSIONS: The PETG material has no influence on the produced mechanical forces regardless of the manufacturing company. The forces over time showed no tendency towards a lower boundary of force. Key words:Mechanical testing, CAD/CAM, orthodontics, thermoplastic aligner materials.