ABSTRACT
With the growing popularity of clear aligners, more patients have chosen to use them instead of traditional orthodontic braces to correct their malocclusions. Clear aligners offer distinct advantages over conventional fixed braces, such as limited aesthetic impact, the convenience of easily removing them for meals, improved accessibility for brushing and flossing, and a treatment approach that avoids the use of metal, minimizing potential irritation to the cheeks and gums. Manufacturers point out a disadvantage that can be administered in this type of treatment. Still, to our knowledge, a comprehensive review of the published literature assessing the adverse/negative effects of clear aligners has not yet been conducted. A systematic review, with or without meta-analysis, will be performed. The inclusion criteria will be studies involving individuals using clear aligners and reporting potential adverse/negative effects during or after treatment. No restrictions about time or language will be applied. The studies screening will be conducted in two stages. Two independent reviewers will initially evaluate the title and abstract under the eligibility criteria. Subsequently, the same two reviewers will examine the articles' full text in-depth. The results will be synthesized in the form of a narrative description and incorporate a meta-analysis if justified. Furthermore, we will present details regarding the sample characteristics, intervention, study objectives, methodologies employed, and primary findings. This study aims to investigate the potential adverse effects and their frequency among orthodontic patients wearing clear aligners. Moreover, the outcomes of this review have the potential to illuminate specific inherent limitations of aligner therapy as a comprehensive orthodontic approach.
Subject(s)
Systematic Reviews as Topic , Humans , Malocclusion/therapyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: This systematic review aimed to analyze the use of telehealth in monitoring patients with head and neck cancer regarding the application used, user adherence to technology, user satisfaction, and user quality of life. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A search strategy was developed using the PICO acronym and the terms "Head and Neck Cancer," "Telehealth," "Mobile Application," and "Supportive Care." A broad literature search was performed on PubMed, Cochrane Library, Scopus, Web of Science, Lilacs, and Embase databases and on grey literature through Open Grey, Google Scholar, and Jstor, for studies comparing the monitoring of head and neck cancer patients with telehealth apps to the monitoring performed in a traditional way at health units. No study design, publication status, publication time, or language restrictions were applied. Pairs of reviewers worked independently for study selection and risk of bias assessment. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO and the PRISMA checklist used for reporting the review. RESULTS: We found 393 references in the databases, 325 after duplicate removal; 19 met the criteria for full-text reading; 08 studies were included for qualitative synthesis. Although there was heterogeneity regarding the technology used, the studies included showed that remote monitoring and/or self-management of symptoms through mobile applications was feasible for most patients, with satisfactory degrees of acceptability, satisfaction, usability, and adherence. The health-related quality of life improved with the use of remote technologies for telehealth, associated with low to moderate self-efficacy, higher personal control, and higher knowledge of health with clinically acceptable levels of accuracy compared to traditional clinical evaluation. Even when the data presented were not statistically significant, patients reported improvement in health-related quality of life after the intervention. CONCLUSIONS: Telehealth monitoring through the use of remote technologies presents itself as an alternative way of educating and supporting patients during the treatment of Head and Neck Cancer (HNC). There is the need for a more user-friendly interface, adequate user experience assessment, and the concrete applicability of telehealth technologies for monitoring patients with HNC in order to legitimize the cost-effectiveness of developing long-term multicenter longitudinal studies term.
