Evaluation of the friction generated by self-ligating and conventional bracket-systems in various bracket-archwire combinations: An in vitro study
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Date
2017
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
The aim of the study is to compare the frictional resistance generated between
two types of self-ligating brackets; Smart-Clip Metal SL (3M Unitek) and Damon Clear SL
(Ormco), with conventional stainless steel brackets, Victory Series (3M Unitek) when
coupled with various stainless steel and nickel-titanium archwires. Materials and Methods:
All brackets had a 0.022" slot and tested using three archwires: 0.016" nickel-titanium,
0.019 x 0.025" nickel-titanium and 0.019 x 0.025" stainless steel archwires. Friction was
evaluated for the upper right quadrant of the typodont. For each testing procedure, new
brackets and archwire was employed to eliminate the influence of wear. Results: The mean
results showed that the Smart-Clip self-ligating brackets generated significantly lower
friction than both the Damon Clear self-ligating brackets and Victory Series brackets.
However, the analysis of the various bracket-archwire combinations displayed that Damon
Clear SL brackets generated the lowest friction when tested with 0.016" round nickeltitanium
archwire and significantly higher friction than Smart-Clip and Victory Series
brackets when tested with 0.019 x 0.025" stainless steel rectangular archwires. All brackets
showed higher frictional forces as the wire size increased. Clinical relevance: The
production of high levels of friction during orthodontic sliding mechanics presents a clinical
challenge to the orthodontists. The generation of high levels of friction may reduce the
effectiveness of the mechanics, decrease tooth movement efficiency and further complicate
anchorage control. The amount of friction is variable in the orthodontic system and can be
altered somewhat by the orthodontist's choices.
Description
Magister Chirurgiae Dentium - MChD (Orthodontics)
Keywords
Friction, Ligation, Elastic Ligatures, Self-ligating (SL) orthodontic brackets, Conventional orthodontic brackets, Nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) archwires, Stainless steel (SS) archwires, Round archwires, Rectangular archwires