De Stefano Adriana Assunta, Horodynski Martina, Galluccio Gabriella
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Sciences, School of Dentistry, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via Caserta, 600161 Rome, Italy.
Materials (Basel). 2025 May 30;18(11):2564. doi: 10.3390/ma18112564.
This systematic review aims to further current knowledge on the effects of microplastics from orthodontic clear aligners, identifying potential implications for human health and providing a basis for further research and development of alternative materials. A literature search to find all peer-reviewed citations relevant to the review topic was conducted in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane Library on 31 December 2024. A manual search of grey literature was also performed. There were 62 citations retrieved by the search query, and 11 were selected for inclusion in the review. Four selected studies were in vitro, while seven were in vitro following intraoral material aging studies. Ten studies evaluated the surface morphology of the material after aging, among the mechanical characteristics assessed, while only one article evaluated the chemical characteristics and size of the microplastic particles released from the aligners after simulated in vitro use. Discussion: From the evaluation of the studies included in this review, it is possible to state that there is a gradual increase over time in the surface roughness of the material, and modifications occurred in the morphology and surface topography of the aligners. Furthermore, it emerged that dispersion of microplastics occurs during the use of different types of aligners, with microplastic particle sizes ranging from 5 to 20 μm The findings suggest that clear aligners may cause microplastic dispersion in saliva during therapy, and this could cause a problem for the general health of patients, due to the absorption or ingestion of these released molecules. Further research is needed to fully understand the extent of microplastics released from aligners and to find alternative materials that can reduce this occurrence.
本系统评价旨在进一步了解正畸透明矫治器中微塑料的影响，确定对人类健康的潜在影响，并为替代材料的进一步研发提供依据。2024年12月31日，在以下数据库中进行了文献检索，以查找与该评价主题相关的所有同行评审文献：PubMed、Scopus、Web of Science和Cochrane图书馆。还对手稿文献进行了人工检索。检索查询共检索到62篇文献，其中11篇被选入本评价。4项入选研究为体外研究，7项为口腔内材料老化后的体外研究。10项研究评估了老化后材料的表面形态，以及评估的力学特性，而只有1篇文章评估了模拟体外使用后矫治器释放的微塑料颗粒的化学特性和尺寸。讨论：通过对本评价中纳入研究的评估，可以指出，材料的表面粗糙度随时间逐渐增加，矫治器的形态和表面形貌发生了变化。此外，还发现不同类型矫治器在使用过程中会发生微塑料分散，微塑料颗粒大小在5至20μm之间。研究结果表明，透明矫治器在治疗过程中可能会导致唾液中的微塑料分散，由于这些释放分子的吸收或摄入，这可能会给患者的整体健康带来问题。需要进一步研究以充分了解矫治器释放的微塑料程度，并找到可以减少这种情况发生的替代材料。
