Efficacy of clear aligners in producing molar distalization: Systematic review

Abstract

Objectives: The aim of this review is to systematically analyze the efficacy of molar distalization using clear aligners in non-growing Class II patients. Materials and Methods: A complete search across the electronic database through PubMed, Cochrane, Google scholar, LILACS, and manual search of orthodontic journals were done till 2019. Studies were selected on the basis of PRISMA guidelines. Results: A total of four articles were included in this review. The amount of molar distalization reported was 2–3 mm. Conclusion: Out of the four studies included. In all the studies a significant amount of distalization was reported. Three retrospective studies concluded that distalization with aligners is the most effective of all tooth movements. One study concluded that aligners effectively achieved distalization with an efficacy of 87%, other two studies concluded that aligners effectively distalized the molars with good control over vertical dimension and mesiodistal tipping.