EFFECTS OF MECHANICAL CLEANING ON THE DENTAL ALIGNERS SURFACE CHARACTERISTICS

Growing demand for orthodontic treatment using transparent aligners has made it important to ensure that aligners are effectively cleaned during the treatment process. However, there are no universal guidelines for cleaning aligners as different manufacturers may recommend different cleaning tools and methods. While a toothbrush is the primary cleaning tool, there is currently no research on the impact of different types of bristles on the characteristics of aligners surface. Subject of the study is the level of impact (damage) on the surface of dental aligners during mechanical cleaning with brushes with different bristles. Purpose of the study is to determine dependence of the level of damage to the surface of dental aligners on the type of toothbrush bristles. Materials and methods. The study was conducted using thermoforming sheets of various thicknesses for the production of aligners made using TPU and PETG technologies. The level of impact of a brush with each type of bristle (ultra-soft with tapered bristle tips, soft with rounded bristle tips, medium-hard with rounded bristle tips, medium-hard with pointed bristle tips and hard with rounded bristle tips) on the corresponding thermoforming sheet was determined after 4 minutes and 40 seconds and 9 minutes 20 seconds. A microscope was used to evaluate the result. Results and conclusions. Brushes with all types of bristles damage the surface of the thermoforming sheets but ultra-soft brush causes the least damage while hard brush causes the most damage. The medium-hard brush with pointed bristles generally caused less damage to the surface of the thermoforming sheets than medium-hard brush with rounded bristles. According to visual assessments thickness of the thermoforming sheets does not have a significant impact on the level of damage caused during the cleaning process. There is also no fundamental difference in the level of resistance of TPU and PETG sheets to mechanical damage caused by the cleaning process.