SynthesisFrontiers in dental medicine2026
Assessing the environmental impact of clear aligner therapy: a scoping review.
Synthesis in Frontiers in dental medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
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
Objective: To evaluate the environmental impact and sustainability-related practices of clear aligner therapy (CAT), focusing on environmental impact, economic implications, waste management, recycling practices, manufacturing processes, and aligner materials. It further explores the alignment of clear aligner practices with Sustainable Development Goals (SDG's) 3,9,12 and 13. Methodology: A scoping review was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The review was guided by the Population-Concept-Context (PCC) framework. A comprehensive literature search was performed across five electronic databases (PubMed Central, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Science, and EBSCOhost) for studies published between January 2014 and December 2024. Studies evaluating the environmental sustainability of clear aligner therapy, including materials, manufacturing processes, waste management, recycling practices, and carbon emissions, were included. Results: Thirteen studies met the inclusion criteria. The evidence indicates that clear aligner therapy contributes to plastic waste, microplastic generation, and greenhouse gas emissions throughout its life cycle. The included studies reported biodegradable materials, direct three-dimensional (3D) printing technologies (SDG-9), recycling initiatives (SDG 12), and circular economy approaches as potential strategies to reduce environmental impacts (SDG 3 & 13). However, the implementation of these strategies remains constrained by limited recycling infrastructure, economic considerations, and insufficient high-quality evidence. Conclusion: Available evidence suggests that innovations in material selection, circular economy approaches, optimized manufacturing processes, and enhanced recycling programs may reduce the environmental burden associated with clear aligner therapy. Nevertheless, further high-quality environmental assessment studies are required to support the development of more sustainable orthodontic practices aligned with SDGs 3, 9, 12, and 13.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.