Clear Aligner Materials Compared 2026: TPU vs. PETG vs. Direct-Print Resins — What the Research Actually Shows
Three clear aligner material families dominate clear aligner manufacturing in 2026, and the differences are measurable, not marketing. Single-layer PETG (the commodity option) delivers high initial force that decays up to 50% within the first week, with 60–70% elastic recovery. Multilayer TPU-skin materials (SmartTrack, Zendura FLX, and equivalents) trade some initial stiffness for dramatically better …
