SynthesisBMC oral health2023
Comparison of pain intensity and impacts on oral health-related quality of life between orthodontic patients treated with clear aligners and fixed appliances: a systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in BMC oral health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 28 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
28 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Comparative Impact of Clear Aligners and Traditional Fixed Appliances on Oral Health-Related Quality of Life: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) · 2026Pooled it
- The effectiveness of orthodontic treatment with clear aligners in different thicknesses.Scientific reports · 2025Trial
- Patient compliance with braces vs. Invisalign®: a secondary data analysis from a randomized clinical trial.Journal of applied oral science : revista FOB · 2025Trial
- Does the pain experienced during orthodontic treatment and bracket removal depend on the architecture of the bracket or debonding method?European journal of orthodontics · 2024Trial
- Finite element analysis of the nonlinear response of oral mucosa in labial tissue induced by spherical versus square self-ligating brackets.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Article
- Quality of Life in Orthodontic Patients Before and After Appliance Therapy: A Narrative Review.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Review
- Comparative effects of temporary anchorage devices combined with various auxiliary attachments on maxillary molar mesialization with clear aligners: a finite element analysis.BMC oral health · 2026Article
- Dietary changes in patients with clear aligners compared with fixed orthodontic appliances during the early stages of orthodontic treatment: A systematic review.Korean journal of orthodontics · 2026Article
- Review
- Biomechanical effects of attachment position and pressure ridge design on maxillary arch expansion with clear aligners: a finite element analysis.Progress in orthodontics · 2026Article
- Evaluation of wear amounts of different composite resin attachments used in clear aligner treatment over a 6-month period: a retrospective study.The Angle orthodontist · 2026Article
- Perception and satisfaction in patients using clear aligners versus fixed orthodontic appliances.Bioinformation · 2026Article
- "Effectiveness of micro-osteoperforations in accelerating maxillary canine retraction in Angle Class I malocclusion: A randomized controlled trial".Journal of orthodontic science · 2026Article
- Clear aligner therapy among orthodontists in Turkey: practice patterns and comparison with previously reported Iranian findings.Frontiers in dental medicine · 2026Article
- Review
- Article
- Indications and limits of clear aligner therapy: an international modified Delphi consensus study.Progress in orthodontics · 2025Review
- Patient experiences with clear aligners: a scoping review.European journal of orthodontics · 2025Article
- Pain and Tooth Movement During Orthodontic Leveling and Alignment-A Questionnaire-Based Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis study aimed to compare the pain intensity and impacts on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) between orthodontic patients treated with clear aligners (CAs) and fixed appliances (FAs).
methodsA systematic search was conducted up to December 2022 using PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Embase. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and prospective non-randomized controlled trials (non-RCTs) comparing pain intensity or OHRQoL between patients treated with CAs and FAs were included. The risk of bias (RoB) of individual studies was evaluated using the Cochrane RoB tool 2.0 and ROBINS-I tool for RCTs and non-RCTs, respectively. Further, meta-analyses were separately conducted for each included study using the total oral health impact profile (OHIP)-14 and visual analog scale (VAS) scores to evaluate OHRQoL and pain intensity, respectively.
resultsOverall, 12 studies (5 RCTs and 7 non-RCTs) were included in the study. Subgroup analyses conducted according to the total OHIP-14 scores revealed that patients treated with CAs had higher OHRQoL at 1 week, 1 month, and 6 months of the treatment. Meanwhile, subgroup analyses conducted according to the VAS scores revealed that pain levels were lower in the CA group only at 3 and 4 days of the treatment.
conclusionsPatients treated with clear aligners had higher OHRQoL than those treated with fixed appliances during orthodontic treatment. However, OHRQoL appeared to be similar between the two groups at the end of the treatment. Moreover, patients treated with clear aligners experienced lesser pain than those treated with fixed appliances on the third and fourth day after the initial treatment. The difference in pain intensity between the two treatment modalities was not noted at other time points.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.