Effects of Attachment Design and Aligner Material on Mandibular Canine Distal Bodily Movement in Aligner Treatment

Purpose Dental crowding is a result of a mismatch between tooth size and arch dimensions, which leads to malocclusion; treatment often involves premolar extraction before orthodontic alignment. Clear aligners are limited in their ability to achieve canine distal bodily movement, a common orthodontic maneuver. This study investigated the impacts of attachment design and aligner material on the efficacy of canine distal bodily movement. Methods A finite element analysis was conducted to examine the impact of various attachment designs and two aligner materials, thermoplastic polyurethanes/polycarbonate (TPU/PC) and polyethylene terephthalate glycol-modified (PETG), on mandibular canine distal bodily movement. The investigation focused on the biomechanical responses in the periodontal ligament (PDL) and surrounding alveolar bone. Results Attachment configuration exerted a strong influence on mandibular canine movement. Vertically oriented attachment pairs positioned mesially (mesial occlusal–mesial cervical) resulted in the most effective canine distal bodily movement, followed by a rectangular attachment. TPU/PC aligners induced slightly higher principal stresses in the PDL and von Mises stress and strain in the surrounding alveolar bone compared with PETG aligners; however, the difference was negligible, amounting to less than 6%. Conclusion Attachment design, specifically vertically oriented pairs positioned mesially (mesial occlusal–mesial cervical), was determined to be the crucial factor influencing the efficacy of canine distal bodily movement. The choice of aligner material (TPU/PC or PETG) has minimal impact on this orthodontic procedure.