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Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDBMC oral health

The effect of thermoforming foils' material and thickness on the physical properties of orthodontic clear aligners: an in vitro study.

  • Behzad Salari1
  • Amirhossein Hosseininasab2
  • Shima Esmailzadeh3
  1. 1Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, TeMS.C., Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran. [email protected].
  2. 2Dentist, private practice, Tehran, Iran.
  3. 3Faculty of Dental Biomaterials, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
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Abstract

Selection of an appropriate thermoforming foils is a crucial step for fabrication of in-office aligners. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different thermoforming material and thickness on the color and weight stability and elastic modulus of clear aligners. Thermoforming foils of five types and two thickness (0.7 and 1.0 mm) were selected. For each group, 12 specimens were prepared to be a standard clear aligner. Weight change, color stability and elastic modulus was measured before and after thermocycling. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. PETG aligners tended toward weight reduction, while TPU and multi-layer aligners tended toward weight gain. PETG (1.0 mm) specimens weight reduction was significant (P = 0.041). TPU (0.7 mm) specimens weight gain was significant (P = 0.002). PETG aligners had the highest color change (ΔE), while multi-layer aligners showed the least. The thicker foils (1.0 mm) had better color consistency than thinner foils (0.7 mm). PETG (1.0 mm) aligners had the highest elastic modulus while multi-layer aligners had the lowest. Thermocycling caused elastic modulus reduction in PETG and increase in TPU and multi-layer aligners. It was concluded that both the type of thermoforming material and its thickness affect weight change, color stability, and elastic modulus of clear aligners.

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Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{salari2026effect,
  title = {{The effect of thermoforming foils' material and thickness on the physical properties of orthodontic clear aligners: an in vitro study.}},
  author = {Behzad Salari and Amirhossein Hosseininasab and Shima Esmailzadeh},
  journal = {BMC oral health},
  year = {2026},
  month = jul,
  doi = {10.1186/s12903-026-09261-y},
  url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907824},
  note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - The effect of thermoforming foils' material and thickness on the physical properties of orthodontic clear aligners: an in vitro study.
AU  - Behzad Salari
AU  - Amirhossein Hosseininasab
AU  - Shima Esmailzadeh
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/01
JO  - BMC oral health
DO  - 10.1186/s12903-026-09261-y
UR  - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42907824
AB  - Selection of an appropriate thermoforming foils is a crucial step for fabrication of in-office aligners. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of different thermoforming material and thickness on the color and weight stability and elastic modulus of clear aligners. Thermoforming foils of five types and two thickness (0.7 and 1.0 mm) were selected. For each group, 12 specimens were prepared to be a standard clear aligner. Weight change, color stability and elastic modulus was measured before and after thermocycling. Data were analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests. PETG aligners tended toward weight reduction, while TPU and multi-layer aligners tended toward weight gain. PETG (1.0 mm) specimens weight reduction was significant (P = 0.041). TPU (0.7 mm) specimens weight gain was significant (P = 0.002). PETG aligners had the highest color change (ΔE), while multi-layer aligners showed the least. The thicker foils (1.0 mm) had better color consistency than thinner foils (0.7 mm). PETG (1.0 mm) aligners had the highest elastic modulus while multi-layer aligners had the lowest. Thermocycling caused elastic modulus reduction in PETG and increase in TPU and multi-layer aligners. It was concluded that both the type of thermoforming material and its thickness affect weight change, color stability, and elastic modulus of clear aligners.
SN  - 1472-6831
ER  -