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Comparison of Patient-Reported Comfort Between Two Clear Aligner Trimming-Line Designs: A Split-Mouth Study (COMFORT-ALIGN)

1 de julho de 2026 atualizado por: Emilia Rusu, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Targu Mures

Comparison of Patient-Reported Comfort Between Supragingival and Juxtagingival Clear Aligner Trimming-Line Designs: A Cross-Sectional, Within-Subject Split-Mouth Study

  • The trimming-line design of clear aligners (supragingival versus juxtagingival) is a routine clinical decision whose influence on patient-reported comfort has not been established; available evidence on aligner comfort derives almost exclusively from comparisons with fixed appliances.
  • This observational, cross-sectional study compares two clear aligner trimming-line designs with respect to patient-reported comfort: a supragingival design, whose edge rests on the marginal gingiva, and a juxtagingival design, whose edge follows the gingival contour without covering it. Because the two designs sit differently against the gingival soft tissue, they may be experienced differently during wear.
  • Participants are patients already wearing one trimming-line design on one dental arch and the other on the contralateral arch; each participant thus serves as their own control. After a minimum of four weeks of wear, participants complete a 20-item questionnaire once, rating the frequency of defined oral experiences for the maxillary and mandibular arch separately on a three-point ordinal scale (0 = none, 1 = occasional, 2 = frequent).
  • The questionnaire is anonymous; the design worn on each arch is identified from which of two identical forms a participant completes. Responses for the two designs are compared within each participant. The study evaluates whether trimming-line design is associated with differences in patient-reported comfort.

Visão geral do estudo

Status

Recrutamento

Condições

Intervenção / Tratamento

Descrição detalhada

  • BACKGROUND AND RATIONALE
  • Clear aligner therapy is an established modality in contemporary orthodontics. At the gingival margin, aligners are commonly trimmed according to one of two trimming-line designs, supragingival or juxtagingival. While the biomechanical and periodontal implications of trimming-line geometry have received attention, its influence on patient-reported outcomes remains uncharacterized. Available evidence on the comfort and oral health-related quality of life associated with aligner therapy derives predominantly from comparisons between aligners and fixed appliances, rather than from comparisons among aligner design parameters. The present study was designed to address this gap by evaluating whether trimming-line design is associated with differences in patient-reported comfort.
  • THE TWO TRIMMING-LINE DESIGNS
  • The supragingival design presents a straight marginal edge extending approximately 2 mm onto the marginal gingiva, in contact with the gingival surface without entering the gingival sulcus. The juxtagingival (festooned) design follows the scalloped contour of the gingival margin and terminates at the free gingival margin without overlying the gingiva. Both designs are fabricated from the same tri-layer thermoplastic aligner material (CA Pro, SCHEU-DENTAL GmbH, Iserlohn, Germany; CE-marked).
  • STUDY DESIGN AND POPULATION
  • This is an observational, cross-sectional, within-subject (split-mouth) study. Participants are patients in active clear aligner treatment who wear the two trimming-line designs, one per dental arch, prescribed as part of their orthodontic care. Each participant concurrently wears both designs and serves as their own control; the unit of comparison is the dental arch within the participant. Eligibility requires a minimum of four weeks of wear of the two designs. The planned enrollment is 70 participants.
  • STUDY INSTRUMENT AND ADMINISTRATION
  • The study instrument is a 20-item questionnaire developed for this study. The items address the functional and soft-tissue dimensions of aligner wear, including speech and phonation, mucosal and gingival sensation, retention and insertion, foreign-body sensation, and salivation and taste, corresponding to the oral surfaces in contact with the aligner margin. Each item is rated for frequency of occurrence during wear on a three-point ordinal scale (0 = none, 1 = occasional, 2 = frequent) and is answered separately for the maxillary and mandibular arch. The questionnaire is administered once, online, and is anonymous; no personal or identifying data are collected. Participants are aware that they are wearing two distinct trimming-line designs but are not informed which design corresponds to which arch, in order to limit response (expectation) bias.
  • DESIGN ALLOCATION AND ANALYSIS
  • The trimming-line design allocated to each arch varies among participants. Two identical questionnaire forms are employed: one is completed by participants in whom the maxillary arch carries the supragingival design (mandibular juxtagingival), and the other by participants with the reciprocal allocation. The form completed thereby encodes the arch-to-design correspondence without recourse to a participant identifier or any identifying data, preserving anonymity. Responses are classified by design accordingly, and supragingival and juxtagingival responses are compared within each participant. The primary analysis is an item-level comparison between designs using a paired non-parametric test (Wilcoxon signed-rank, two-sided, alpha = 0.05), supplemented by descriptive statistics (frequencies, means, standard deviations). A pre-specified secondary analysis compares the per-design total score (range 0 to 40), with assessment of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha).
  • RELATIONSHIP TO THE RESEARCH PROGRAM
  • This study is the patient-experience component of a coordinated doctoral research program of four parallel split-mouth investigations of clear aligner trimming-line design (periodontal status, subgingival microbiota, optical stability, and patient-reported comfort); findings are interpreted alongside the companion studies at the group level.

Tipo de estudo

Observacional

Inscrição (Estimado)

70

Contactos e Locais

Esta seção fornece os detalhes de contato para aqueles que conduzem o estudo e informações sobre onde este estudo está sendo realizado.

Contato de estudo

Locais de estudo

  • Romênia
    • Sibiu County
      • Sibiu, Sibiu County, Romênia, 550027
        • Recrutamento
        • Aorys Clinic
        • Contato:

Critérios de participação

Os pesquisadores procuram pessoas que se encaixem em uma determinada descrição, chamada de critérios de elegibilidade. Alguns exemplos desses critérios são a condição geral de saúde de uma pessoa ou tratamentos anteriores.

Critérios de elegibilidade

Idades elegíveis para estudo

  • Filho
  • Adulto
  • Adulto mais velho

Aceita Voluntários Saudáveis

Sim

Método de amostragem

Amostra Não Probabilística

População do estudo

Adolescent and adult patients (aged 15 years or older) in active orthodontic treatment with clear aligners, including finishing (refinement) aligners, in whom a supragingival trimming-line design is worn on one dental arch and a juxtagingival design on the contralateral arch. Eligible participants have worn the two designs for at least four weeks at the time the questionnaire is completed. Recruitment is conducted at a single orthodontic practice.

Descrição

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescent or adult patient (aged 15 years or older)
  • Active orthodontic treatment with clear aligners, including finishing (refinement) aligners
  • Wearing two clear aligners with different trimming-line designs, one per dental arch: a supragingival design on one arch and a juxtagingival design on the contralateral arch
  • At least 4 weeks of wear of the two designs at the time of questionnaire completion
  • Good treatment compliance
  • Willing and able to complete the online questionnaire and provide the required consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Mixed orthodontic treatment (aligners combined with fixed appliances)
  • Pre-existing neurological, cognitive, or speech disorders
  • Systemic conditions affecting the oral cavity (e.g., xerostomia, mucosal disorders)

Plano de estudo

Esta seção fornece detalhes do plano de estudo, incluindo como o estudo é projetado e o que o estudo está medindo.

Como o estudo é projetado?

Detalhes do projeto

Coortes e Intervenções

Grupo / Coorte
Intervenção / Tratamento
Group/Cohort (1): Split-mouth participants (both trimming-line designs)
Patients wearing the supragingival trimming-line design on one dental arch and the juxtagingival design on the contralateral arch, who completed the comfort questionnaire after at least four weeks of wear.
Dispositivo: Supragingival trimming-line design
Clear aligner edge covering approximately 2 mm of marginal gingiva (straight cut), worn on one dental arch.
Dispositivo: Juxtagingival festooned trimming-line design
Clear aligner edge following the scalloped gingival contour, terminating at the free gingival margin without covering the gingiva, worn on the contralateral arch.

O que o estudo está medindo?

Medidas de resultados primários

Medida de resultado
Descrição da medida
Prazo
Per-item patient-reported frequency (0-2) for the supragingival versus juxtagingival design
Prazo: Day 28 (+/- 2 days) after the start of wear of the two designs
For each of the 20 questionnaire items (each rated 0 = no, 1 = occasionally, 2 = frequently, recorded separately for the two dental arches), the response associated with the supragingival design is compared with the response associated with the juxtagingival design within each participant, using a paired non-parametric test (Wilcoxon signed-rank, two-sided, alpha 0.05). Responses are also summarized descriptively (frequencies, means, standard deviations).
Day 28 (+/- 2 days) after the start of wear of the two designs

Medidas de resultados secundários

Medida de resultado
Descrição da medida
Prazo
Total patient-reported discomfort score per design (0-40)
Prazo: Day 28 (+/- 2 days) after the start of wear of the two designs
Pre-specified secondary analysis. For each participant, the 20 item scores associated with each design are summed to a total from 0 (no reported discomfort) to 40 (maximum reported frequency across all items); the supragingival and juxtagingival totals are compared within participants (Wilcoxon signed-rank, two-sided, alpha 0.05). Internal consistency of the total score is assessed (Cronbach's alpha).
Day 28 (+/- 2 days) after the start of wear of the two designs

Colaboradores e Investigadores

É aqui que você encontrará pessoas e organizações envolvidas com este estudo.

Patrocinador

George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences and Technology of Targu Mures

Investigadores

  • Investigador principal: EMILIA (PRODEA) RUSU, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences, and Technology of Targu Mures, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania
  • Cadeira de estudo: LUMINITA LAZAR, DDS, PhD, George Emil Palade University of Medicine, Pharmacy, Sciences, and Technology of Targu Mures, 38 Gheorghe Marinescu Street, 540139 Targu Mures, Romania

Publicações e links úteis

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Publicações Gerais

Datas de registro do estudo

Essas datas acompanham o progresso do registro do estudo e os envios de resumo dos resultados para ClinicalTrials.gov. Os registros do estudo e os resultados relatados são revisados ​​pela National Library of Medicine (NLM) para garantir que atendam aos padrões específicos de controle de qualidade antes de serem publicados no site público.

Datas Principais do Estudo

Início do estudo (Real)

1 de julho de 2026

Conclusão Primária (Estimado)

1 de agosto de 2026

Conclusão do estudo (Estimado)

1 de agosto de 2026

Datas de inscrição no estudo

Enviado pela primeira vez

16 de junho de 2026

Enviado pela primeira vez que atendeu aos critérios de CQ

16 de junho de 2026

Primeira postagem (Real)

22 de junho de 2026

Atualizações de registro de estudo

Última Atualização Postada (Real)

6 de julho de 2026

Última atualização enviada que atendeu aos critérios de controle de qualidade

1 de julho de 2026

Última verificação

1 de julho de 2026

Mais Informações

Termos relacionados a este estudo

Palavras-chave

Termos MeSH relevantes adicionais

Outros números de identificação do estudo

  • COMFORT-ALIGN-ORTHO
  • 3885/2025 (Outro identificador: Ethics Committee for Scientific Research, UMFST Targu Mures)

Plano para dados de participantes individuais (IPD)

Planeja compartilhar dados de participantes individuais (IPD)?

SIM

Descrição do plano IPD

The study collects anonymous questionnaire responses, with no participant code or identifying data; the trimming-line design per arch is derived from which of two identical forms a participant completed. A minimal de-identified dataset (per-design total discomfort scores) will be made available upon reasonable request to the corresponding author following publication. Companion-study data are not linked.

Prazo de Compartilhamento de IPD

Beginning 6 months after publication of primary study results.

Critérios de acesso de compartilhamento IPD

Upon reasonable request to the corresponding author (PI); requests reviewed within 30 days.

Tipo de informação de suporte de compartilhamento de IPD

  • PROTOCOLO DE ESTUDO
  • SEIVA

Informações sobre medicamentos e dispositivos, documentos de estudo

Estuda um medicamento regulamentado pela FDA dos EUA

Não

Estuda um produto de dispositivo regulamentado pela FDA dos EUA

Não

Essas informações foram obtidas diretamente do site clinicaltrials.gov sem nenhuma alteração. Se você tiver alguma solicitação para alterar, remover ou atualizar os detalhes do seu estudo, entre em contato com register@clinicaltrials.gov. Assim que uma alteração for implementada em clinicaltrials.gov, ela também será atualizada automaticamente em nosso site .

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