Clinical evidence

What the research says about clear aligners

Every registered study on clear aligner therapy that we index, the professional-body positions on at-home treatment, and the peer-reviewed findings on its risks. Every count opens the list it counts, and every study links to its registry record.

Updated monthly · checked 31 min ago
134studies indexed
6with posted results
134registered at ClinicalTrials.gov

ClinicalTrials.gov lists 134 registered studies of clear aligner therapy. We index 134 of them below, and 6 have posted results. They come from a search for “clear aligner”, so they describe the category rather than any one brand we compare, and a study count shows how much has been researched, not which brand works best. The American Dental Association and the American Association of Orthodontists both warn against moving teeth without an in-person exam.

Some of the studies indexed here test AI-designed aligners and AI-assisted remote monitoring, and licensed clinicians, dentists and orthodontists included, can be paid to judge how AI models reason in their field: AITraining.jobs, which shares a founder with this site, covers paid expert AI evaluation in medicine, law and finance.

Authorities & studies

What the authorities and studies say

The professional-body positions and peer-reviewed findings on at-home, remotely supervised aligners. Every figure links to the source that states it.

The American Dental Association's policy on direct-to-consumer dental services states that self-delivered, unsupervised dental treatments have the potential to cause damage and irreversible complications. Its policy against do-it-yourself teeth straightening was adopted in 2017, and one on direct-to-consumer dental laboratory services in October 2018.

American Dental Association

The American Association of Orthodontists holds that treatment should be supervised in person by a licensed orthodontist, and that an in-person exam including x-rays before treatment is essential because tooth movement is a complex biological process that can cause irreversible, expensive harm.

American Association of Orthodontists

A JADA survey of 470 remote-aligner users found 87.5 percent were satisfied, but 6.6 percent needed professional dental intervention for adverse effects. Cost and convenience, not clinical need, were the main reasons people chose the remote route.

JADA (2020)

A JADA editorial warns that direct-to-consumer aligners skip the in-person diagnosis (radiographs and periodontal screening) that should come before any tooth movement, risking irreversible damage when gum and bone health is not established first.

JADA editorial (2024)
30 to 37%of direct-to-consumer aligner users reported complications, in a peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Clinical Medicine (2025)

In a 2025 study of direct-to-consumer aligner users, roughly 30 to 37 percent reported complications, including bite difficulties (48.5 percent), gum inflammation (45.5 percent), and irritation (42.4 percent), and 57 percent had never consulted a dentist before starting.

Journal of Clinical Medicine (2025)

For the full risks of unsupervised, mail-order, and DIY straightening, and why an in-person exam matters, see DIY & mail-order shortcuts.

Registered studies

Every clear aligner study we index

From ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's registry. Each study links to its registry record; enrollment and dates open the record that states them.

A registry search for “clear aligner” returns 134 studies. We index 134: the 6 with posted results first, then the 128 without, grouped by recruitment status. Where a study names one of the brands we compare, that brand is shown and linked; every study shows its sponsor.

With posted results (6)

Newest first, each primary result exactly as posted. Cross-check against the registry's own search filtered to studies with results.

Registered, no results posted (128)

Grouped by the registry's recruitment status, newest first. Each count opens its group.

Recruiting (13)

Not yet recruiting (15)

Active, not recruiting (15)

Completed (59)

Suspended (1)

Withdrawn (1)

Unknown status (19)

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov API v2 · as of Nov 13, 2026

Published research

Search the clear aligner literature yourself

Europe PMC indexes PubMed, MEDLINE, and preprints. These searches cover clear aligner therapy as a whole, the same scope as the studies above.

Randomized controlled trials

Europe PMC, filtered to that publication type.

Systematic reviews

Europe PMC, filtered to that publication type.

Every indexed paper

Europe PMC, every publication type.

PubMed

The same search on the National Library of Medicine's index.

We do not score or rank brands by research volume. Studies and papers are about clear aligners as a category, and most brand names are not research topics, so a per-brand paper count would measure how common a name is, not how well a brand works.

Study and paper counts measure how much research exists, not its quality, the size of any benefit, or safety. The ADA and the AAO both warn against moving teeth without an in-person exam. Read the underlying studies. Informational only, not dental or medical advice. Consult a licensed dentist or orthodontist and confirm current terms with the provider.