The effect of cleaning agents applied to CLEAR thermoplastic retainer on LİGHT transmittance and color change

The aim of this study is to examine the color change and light transmission values of clear thermoplastic retainer (CTR) of different brands used in retention phase after the use of various cleaning agents. In this study, 108 patients in the retention phase were randomly divided into 3 groups (Clear Aligner, ClearCorrect, Orthero) according to the aligner brands. Each group was divided into 3 groups according to the cleaning agents applied (Listerine, Cetron, Corega) and a total of 9 subgroups were formed (n=12). Digitally produced CTR for the upper jaws were delivered to patients with cleaning agents. Rectangular specimens were taken from palatal region of CTR just before (T0) and 3 months after (T1) insertion. The amount of color change (ΔE) and light transmittance of the samples were evaluated with Ultraviolet-visible-near infrared Spectrophotometer device. A significant decrease was observed in light transmittance values after the application of the cleaning agent in the all retainer brands. (p<0.05) For ClearCorrect and Orthero groups, the most decrease for light transmission was in Listerine; for Clear Aligner group, was in Cetron. The highest change in the amount of color change for Clear Aligner and Orthero groups is in Listerine; for ClearCorrect group, it was seen in the Corega. The color stability of the clear aligners produced specifically for use in the retention period by aligner systems of different brands was similar after the application of different retainer cleaning agents. However, all the agents applied caused discoloration in the products of all clear aligner brands.