The effect of surface treatment and clinical use on friction in NiTi orthodontic wires.
OBJECTIVE
Since the low friction of NiTi wires allows a rapid and efficient orthodontic tooth movement, the aim of this research was to investigate the friction and surface roughness of different commercially available superelastic NiTi wires before and after clinical use. The surface of all of the wires had been pre-treated by the manufacturer.


METHODS
Forty superelastic wires (Titanol Low Force, Titanol Low Force River Finish Gold, Neo Sentalloy, Neo Sentalloy Ionguard) of diameter 0.016 x 0.022 in. were tested. The friction for each type of NiTi archwire ligated into a commercial stainless steel bracket was determined with a universal testing machine. Having ligated the wire into the bracket, it could then be moved forward and backwards along a fixed archwire whilst a torquing moment was applied. The surface roughness was investigated using a profilometric measuring device on defined areas of the wire. Statistical data analysis was conducted by means of the Wilcoxon test.


RESULTS
The results showed that initially, the surface treated wires demonstrated significantly (p < 0.01) less friction than the non-treated wires. The surface roughness showed no significant difference between the treated and the non-treated surfaces of the wires. All 40 wires however showed a significant increase in friction and surface roughness during clinical use.


CONCLUSIONS
Whilst the Titanol Low Force River Finish Gold (Forestadent, Pforzheim, Germany) wires showed the least friction of all the samples and consequently should be more conservative on anchorage, the increase in friction of all the surface treated wires during orthodontic treatment almost cancels out this initial effect on friction. It is therefore recommended that surface treated NiTi orthodontic archwires should only be used once.
Wichelhaus
Andrea
A
Department of Orthodontics and Pedodontics, University of Basel, Hebelstrasse 3, Basel 4056, Switzerland. andrea.wichelhaus@unibas.ch
Geserick
Marc
M
Hibst
Raimund
R
Sander
Franz G
FG
D003722:Dental Alloys / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis / Q000295:instrumentation; D004548:Elasticity; D017276:Friction; D006801:Humans; D008422:Materials Testing; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D016910:Orthodontic Brackets; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000145:classification; D019415:Torque
D003722:Dental Alloys; C040654:titanium nickelide; D013193:Stainless Steel; D009532:Nickel; D014025:Titanium