What are the different plastics?

Often, the classic dental splints, also called "thermoformed splints", are so-called copolyester (PETG). This plastic is characterised by its enormous biocompatibility and flexibility. It has been used in dentistry for years. For the various indications, the plastic can be purchased and processed in a wide variety of material thicknesses for its respective purpose. The classic "grinding protection" is also made of this plastic, usually in a layer thickness of 1.5 mm.

Lower layer thicknesses are used for aligner therapy (tooth splint therapy). In general, the following can be said about this: The thinner the plastic material, the greater the possible movement per splint, but the lower the accuracy. The more stable the plastic material, the greater the accuracy. However, less movement can be achieved per rail.

For tooth misalignment therapy, a deep-drawing splint should ideally be used, which has not only one, but at least two-layer thicknesses. This allows the kinetic energy to be distributed to the teeth more evenly and in the long term, thus achieving a better result. However, this state-of-the-art variant of the plastic dental splint is only used by a few suppliers on the market today, particularly due to the higher material price per splint.