title: Orthodontic treatment with preadjusted appliances and low-friction ligatures: experimental evidence and clinical observations.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the features of low-friction ligatures during the leveling and aligning phase of fixed appliance therapy with preadjusted brackets.
  
  
  METHODS
  Experimental in vitro and in vivo studies were carried out to test the performance of the low-friction system with regard to leveling and aligning of the dental arches, as well as to increasing the transverse dimension of the maxillary arch.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The outcomes of experimental testing showed that the combination of the low-friction ligatures with the superelastic nickel-titanium wires produced a significantly smaller amount of binding at the bracket/archwire/ligature unit when compared to conventional elastomeric ligatures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The biomechanical consequences of the use of low-friction ligatures were shorter duration of orthodontic treatment during the leveling and aligning phase, concurrent dentoalveolar expansion of the dental arch, and the possibility of using biologically adequate orthodontic forces.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, University of Florence, Florence, Italy.
authors.forename: Tiziano
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baccetti
authors.forename: Lorenzo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Franchi
authors.forename: Arturo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fortini
mesh_terms: D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002648:Child; D003481:Cuspid / Q000601:surgery; D003722:Dental Alloys / Q000737:chemistry; D003724:Dental Arch / Q000473:pathology; D004548:Elasticity; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D017276:Friction; D006801:Humans; D008026:Ligation / Q000295:instrumentation; D008311:Malocclusion, Angle Class I / Q000628:therapy; D008437:Maxilla / Q000473:pathology; D009532:Nickel / Q000737:chemistry; D016382:Orthodontic Appliance Design; D016910:Orthodontic Brackets; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D010155:Palatal Expansion Technique / Q000295:instrumentation; D011140:Polyurethanes / Q000737:chemistry; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013499:Surface Properties; D014025:Titanium / Q000737:chemistry; D014087:Tooth Movement Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation; D014095:Tooth, Impacted / Q000601:surgery
chemical_list: D003722:Dental Alloys; D020724:Elastomers; D011140:Polyurethanes; C040654:titanium nickelide; D009532:Nickel; D014025:Titanium