Assessment of the Mechanical Properties of Three Commercially Available Thermoplastic Aligner Materials Used for Orthodontic Treatment

 This studied aimed to measure the yield strength and stress relaxation properties of three commercially available thermoplastic aligner materials.

 The three different thermoplastics aligner materials Duran (Scheu, Iserlohn, Germany), Erkodur (Pfalzgrafenweiler, Erkodent, Germany) and Track (Forestadent, Germany) were selected. A three-point bending test was carried out via the universal testing machine to measure their yield strength and stress relaxation properties. An independent t-test was performed for intergroup comparison. P-value < 0.05 was set as the level of significance.

 All the selected three polymers liberate a notable amount of stress during 24 hours. The highest stress release was observed in Duran i.e. 18.96 N/cm2 as compared to Erkodur, which was 13.96 N/cm2 and Track, which was 13.18 N/cm2. The yield strength of Duran was the highest (75.85 Mpa) compared to Track and Erkodur with the yield strength of 52.75 Mpa and 55.86 Mpa, respectively.

 Tooth movement is influenced by the composition of aligner material and its thickness. Duran had the highest stress release and yield strength. Stress released by different aligners exceeds around half of the initial stress value, which directly affects the orthodontic force application and subsequent tooth movement.