Esthetic comparison of two composites used for Invisalign's attachments bonding.

Background: Esthetics is a factor of great importance for most patients undergoing treatment with Invisalign® aligners. When choosing a resin composite for the bonding of attachments required for the treatment, ideal characteristics such as low visibility and stain resistance of the material are essential to increase the overall perceived esthetics of the treatment. The objective of this article was to evaluate the esthetics of two resin composites used for attachment reproduction: the Transbond XT® from 3M® and the Tetric EvoCeram® from Ivoclar Vivadent®.

Material and methods: An analytic, observational, longitudinal, and prospective study was done. Attachments were bonded on 51 patients, and a dental survey about esthetics was given 3 months after the bonding of attachments. The Student's t-test and 1-factor ANOVA tests were used, when the variables were normal, and the nonparametric alternative of the tests was used when they were not distributed normally.

Results: The results indicate that there are no statistically significant differences (p>.05) in the esthetic perception of attachments according to the type of composite used.

Conclusions: Even if some differences are observed between the resins, both Transbond XT® and Tetric EvoCeram® can be considered for attachments bonding from an esthetical point of view. Key words:Clear aligner therapy/Dental bonding/Orthodontic appliance/Dental Esthetics.