Attachments are small tooth-colored shapes that are bonded (attached) to teeth before or during treatment with clear aligners. They are like handles, giving aligners something to gently push teeth into correct positions. There are 4 different shapes of attachments that are commonly used to extrude lateral incisors (incisally-beveled, gingivally-beveled, optimized and horizontal). All 4 of these attachments are successful in extruding lateral incisors but there is not enough research evidence to know for sure which attachment would be ideal for a specific circumstance.
The purpose of this research is to test which of four clear aligner attachment types is more efficient in extruding (erupting) maxillary lateral incisors vertically into correct position during orthodontic treatment.