Trial reportClinical oral investigations2026
A Randomised Controlled Trial Comparing Thermoformed and 3D-Printed Retainers in Young Adults: Evaluation of Post-treatment Stability and Patient Satisfaction.
Trial report in Clinical oral investigations, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05968625 (Post-Treatment Stability, Changes in Mechanical Properties and Patients' OHRQoL Of Direct 3D-Printed Retainers Versus Thermoformed Retainers), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.
What it found
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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.
Post-Treatment Stability, Changes in Mechanical Properties and Patients' OHRQoL Of Direct 3D-Printed Retainers Versus Thermoformed Retainers: An Open-label Randomized Controlled Trial
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionTo compare post-treatment stability and oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in young adults wearing thermoformed retainers (TFR) versus direct 3D-printed retainers (3DPR) over a six-month part-time retention period. MATERIALS AND
methodsThis single-centre, two-arm parallel randomised controlled trial allocated 30 debonded orthodontic patients (≥ 18 years) to either TFR (Erkodur PETG, 1.0 mm) or 3DPR (NextDent Ortho Flex, 0.75 mm) in a 1:1 ratio. All retainers were worn part-time (8-12 h/day). Digital intraoral scans were obtained at baseline (T0) and six months (T2) using Trios 3, and post-treatment stability was assessed digitally using Little's Irregularity Index, intercanine width, intermolar width, arch length, overjet, and overbite. OHRQoL was evaluated at both time points using the OHIP-14(M) questionnaire. Non-parametric tests were applied following the Shapiro-Wilk assessment, and analyses were conducted using an intention-to-treat approach.
resultsOne dropout in the 3DPR group at T2. At T2, no significant between-group differences were found in Little's Irregularity Index, intercanine width, intermolar width, arch length, or overjet (p > 0.05). Overbite values were statistically higher in the TFR group at T2 (p < 0.05); however, the difference was not clinically significant. Changes in post-treatment stability from T0 to T2 (ΔT2-T0) did not differ significantly between groups (p > 0.05). Total OHIP-14(M) scores improved significantly from T0 to T2 in both groups (TFR p = 0.016; 3DPR p = 0.013), with no significant between-group differences at either time point (p > 0.05). A small but significant difference was observed in the psychological disability domain at T2, with slightly higher scores in the 3DPR group (p = 0.020). No harm was observed.
conclusionsTFR and 3DPR demonstrated comparable post-treatment stability and similar improvements in OHRQoL after six months of part-time wear. REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (Identifier NCT05968625). PROTOCOL: The protocol was published before trial commencement.
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