Title

Retrospective evaluation of clear aligners' adverse effects on open gingival embrasures among orthodontic patients

Authors

B.S. Raju¹,*, Kanchan Sharma², Deepika Yadav³, Keerti Kaushik⁴, Shashank Gaikwad⁵, Aditi Satish Lawale⁶ & Miral Mehta⁷

Affiliation

¹Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Maharana Pratap College of Dentistry and Research Centre, Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India; ²Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, Awadh Dental College and Hospital, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand, India; ³Consultant Endodontist, Captain Nandlal Yadav Multi-Speciality Hospital, Rewari, Haryana, India; ⁴Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, ITS Dental College, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India; ⁵Department of Orthodontics, Bharati Vidyapeeth (Deemed to be University) Dental College and hospital, Navi Mumbai, India; ⁶Intern, Bharati Vidyapeeth Dental College and Hospital, Pune, India; ⁷Department of Pediatric and Preventive Dentistry, Karnavati School of Dentistry, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India; *Corresponding author

Email

B.S. Raju - E-mail: rajuorthodont@outlook.com
Kanchan Sharma - E-mail: kanchansharma10022018@gmail.com
Deepika Yadav - E-mail: diyayadav00@gmail.com
Keerti Kaushik - E-mail: drkeertikaushik01@gmail.com
Shashank Gaikwad - E-mail: drshashanksgaikwad@gmail.com
Aditi Satish Lawale - E-mail: aditilawale@gmail.com
Miral Mehta - E-mail: miral9829@gmail.com

Article Type

Research Article

Date

Received September 1, 2025; Revised September 30, 2025; Accepted September 30, 2025, Published September 30, 2025

Abstract

Open gingival embrasures (OGEs), commonly called "black triangles," are a frequent esthetic and periodontal complication reported in patients undergoing clear aligner therapy. This retrospective study analyzed clinical records of 80 patients treated between 2020 and 2022 to assess the prevalence and risk factors of OGEs. Digital records and casts were evaluated for OGEs, with variables such as age, gender, treatment duration, incisor movement, interproximal reduction (IPR) and aligner compliance analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression. Data showed OGEs in 48.75% of patients, most commonly between maxillary central incisors, with significant associations to incisor proclination and lack of IPR. Thus, we show that careful planning of tooth movement and contact point management is essential to minimize OGEs in clear aligner therapy.

Keywords

Clear aligners, open gingival embrasure, black triangle, orthodontic treatment, interproximal reduction, esthetic complications.

Citation

Raju et al. Bioinformation 21(9): 2984-2987 (2025)

Edited by

Hiroj Bagde

ISSN

0973-2063

Publisher

Biomedical Informatics

License

This is an Open Access article which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly credited. This is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.