Lan Huong Timm, Gasser Farrag, M. Baxmann
Jul 1, 2021
Citations
2
Influential Citations
20
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Journal of Clinical Medicine
Abstract
Compliance is highly relevant during clear aligner therapy (CAT). In this retrospective cohort study, we assessed compliance and associated covariates in a large cohort of CAT patients. A comprehensive sample of 2644 patients (75.0% females, 25.0% males, age range 18–64 years, median 27 years), all receiving CAT with PlusDental (Berlin, Germany) finished in 2019, was analyzed. Covariates included demographic ones (age, gender) as well as self-reported questionnaire-obtained ones (satisfaction with ones’ smile prior treatment, the experience of previous orthodontic therapy). The primary outcome was compliance: Based on patients’ consistent use of the mobile application for self-report and aligner wear time of ≥22 h, patients were classified as fully compliant, fairly compliant, or poorly compliant. Chi-square test was used to compare compliance in different subgroups. A total of 953/2644 (36.0%) of patients showed full compliance, 1012/2644 (38.3%) fair compliance, and 679/2644 (25.7%) poor compliance. Males were significantly more compliant than females (p = 0.000014), as were patients without previous orthodontic treatment (p = 0.023). Age and self-perceived satisfaction with ones’ smile prior to treatment were not sufficiently associated with compliance (p > 0.05). Our findings could be used to guide practitioners towards limitedly compliant individuals, allowing early intervention.