Chong Hannah, Peh Joshua, Weir Tony, Meade Maurice J
Orthodontic Unit, Adelaide Dental School, Adelaide Health and Medical Sciences Building, The University of Adelaide, 4 North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000, Australia.
Eur J Orthod. 2025 Apr 8;47(3). doi: 10.1093/ejo/cjaf017.
Clear aligner therapy (CAT) is an aesthetic alternative to fixed appliance therapy (FAT). An understanding of patient experiences with CAT can enable clinicians to educate patients, manage expectations, and identify potential barriers to effective treatment. A scoping review was undertaken to map and synthesise the available evidence on patient experiences with CAT.
The review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. The PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, Scopus, Web of Science and Dentistry & Oral Sciences Source databases and grey literature were searched. Data collation and synthesis was presented in descriptive and tabular formats.
The initial search yielded 541 articles following removal of duplicate studies. 37 studies met the selection criteria and were scoped in the present review. The studies identified included cross-sectional, longitudinal, prospective, and randomised clinical trials reporting on patient experiences with CAT associated with Oral Health-Related Quality of Life (OHRQOL) and satisfaction. The impacts of CAT on OHRQOL with relevance to pain was the most frequently evaluated aspect, followed by speech, satisfaction, eating, anxiety, and sleep.
CAT patients report satisfaction with the aesthetics of the appliance however can expect transient negative effects on OHRQOL, pain, anxiety, and speech after commencing treatment. Further longitudinal research using validated qualitative tools focussing on CAT is required.
This review was registered in the Open Science Framework database (DOI: xx).
透明矫治器疗法（CAT）是固定矫治器疗法（FAT）的一种美观替代方案。了解患者使用CAT的体验有助于临床医生对患者进行教育、管理期望并识别有效治疗的潜在障碍。本研究进行了一项范围综述，以梳理和综合关于患者使用CAT体验的现有证据。
本综述按照系统评价和Meta分析扩展版的范围综述首选报告项目（PRISMA-ScR）指南进行。检索了PubMed（MEDLINE）、Embase、Scopus、Web of Science以及牙科学与口腔科学源数据库和灰色文献。数据整理和综合以描述性和表格形式呈现。
去除重复研究后，初步检索得到541篇文章。37项研究符合纳入标准并纳入本综述。纳入的研究包括横断面研究、纵向研究、前瞻性研究和随机临床试验，报告了患者使用CAT与口腔健康相关生活质量（OHRQOL）及满意度的情况。CAT对与疼痛相关的OHRQOL的影响是最常评估的方面，其次是言语、满意度、进食、焦虑和睡眠。
CAT患者对矫治器的美观性表示满意，但在开始治疗后可能会经历对OHRQOL、疼痛、焦虑和言语的短暂负面影响。需要进一步开展使用经过验证的定性工具聚焦于CAT的纵向研究。
本综述已在开放科学框架数据库中注册（DOI：xx）
