What is the impact on plastic pollution by aligners?

Currently and for years prior, we have been in conflict with the environment. Climate change and widespread pollution have been difficult topics to address and while many of us engage in heated discussions about the gravity of the situation, most of us have immersed ourselves in the comfort of ignorance. If there’s anything we can do to tug the planet out of the grips of global warming and save the oceans from centuries of destruction, the time is now.

On a seemingly unrelated note, clear aligners are seeing increasing popularity due to their characteristic features of superior aesthetics, convenient wearability, and high efficiency of tooth movements. Keeping in regard to the ideal properties of aligners to withstand strong forces, retain flexibility for insertion and removal, maintain shape and rigidity, and be resistant to tooth movements, any plastic materials would not do. This has given rise to the development of smart materials like PET.

PET or polyethene terephthalate was first synthesized in the U.S. sometime during the mid-1940s by DuPont chemists, who were desperately searching for polymers that could be used to fabricate new textile fibres. Soon after they were introduced, plastic bottles and other household items made up of PET took the market by storm. And why wouldn’t it? It is a cheap material that is easy to manufacture and transport.

So, can you decipher a connection between the debilitating state of the planet and the glistening system of clear aligners? Plastic pollution is a major threat to our environment. Its ability to break down into microscopic molecules and toxic chemicals continues to impact human health. To make things worse, the production of plastic also gives rise to greenhouse gas emissions that are fueling the climate crisis.

According to the Economic world forum, every minute a truck dumps plastic into the ocean.  Additionally, there stands an increased risk of releasing toxic products into the environment through the manufacture of polymers. Examples include cyanides released during thermal degradation and BPA (Bisphenol A) used to produce transparency. Both of these are crucial additives that are used to make polymers.

An excerpt from an article published in the Environmental Health Perspective reveals, “Even in small amounts, this chemical can cause diseases such as immune system changes, prostate enlargement, diabetes, hyperactivity, infertility, obesity, precocious puberty, and breast cancer.”

However, this is not supposed to raise as big of a concern as it has. Through numerous discussions and extensive studies, we have learned that PET, unlike other types of plastics is not single-use and can be recycled a 100%.

Initiatives like those done by TerraCycle have ensured a proper disposal method for clear aligners so that the additives in PET and PET themselves do not cause environmental harm. It has partnered with collectors across 20 countries, diverting waste from landfills and incinerators. They make sure that your clear aligner trays are cleaned and melted into hard plastic. Then, they remould them to make new recycled products.

You can now opt for clear aligners without the guilt of plastic waste or environmental pollution.