Comparison of Retention Characteristics of Clear bow Hawley’s and Vacuum Formed Retainers—A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: Retention is an important stage of orthodontic treatment which involves maintaining the teeth in the corrected position. The aim of this trial was to compare the retentive capacity of Clear bow Hawley (CBR) and Vacuum formed retainer (VFR) 1 year after completion of orthodontic treatment. Materials and Methods: This prospective randomized controlled trial included 46 subjects who were treated with fixed orthodontic appliances and were advised to use removable orthodontic retainers. The subjects were randomly allocated to two groups, group 1–23 subjects who received CBRs and group 2–23 subjects who received VFRs. Retainers were advised immediately after debonding and patients were recalled after 1 year. Lateral cephalograms and intraoral scans were taken and certain parameters (inter canine, intermolar width, little’s irregularity index, arch length) were evaluated. Descriptive statistics and paired t-test were done to determine and compare the retentive capacity of the retainers. Results: No statistically significant relapse was noted and no differences between retainers for inter canine, intermolar width, arch length, little’s irregularity index, and cephalometric changes were noted (P > 0.05). Conclusion: Both the CBRs and VFRs are equally effective in retaining the corrected malocclusion, CBRs can be considered as a very good alternative to VFRs.