Debris, roughness and friction of stainless steel archwires following clinical use.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the degree of debris, roughness, and friction of stainless steel orthodontic archwires before and after clinical use.


METHODS
For eight individuals, two sets of three brackets (n = 16) each were bonded from the first molar to the first premolar. A passive segment of 0.019- x 0.025-inch stainless steel archwire was inserted into the brackets and tied by elastomeric ligature. Debris level (via scanning electron microscopy), roughness, and frictional force were evaluated as-received and after 8 weeks of intraoral exposure. Mann-Whitney, Wilcoxon signed-rank, and Spearman correlation tests were used for statistical analysis at the .05 level of significance.


RESULTS
There were significant increases in the level of debris (P = .0004), roughness of orthodontic wires (P = .002), and friction (P = .0001) after intraoral exposure. Significant positive correlations (P < .05) were observed between these three variables.


CONCLUSIONS
Stainless steel rectangular wires, when exposed to the intraoral environment for 8 weeks, showed a significant increase in the degree of debris and surface roughness, causing an increase in friction between the wire and bracket during the mechanics of sliding.
Marques
Isabella Silva Vieira
IS
Department of Orthodontics, Brazil Federal University, Pará State, Belém, Brazil.
Araújo
Adriana M
AM
Gurgel
Júlio A
JA
Normando
David
D
D000328:Adult; D003722:Dental Alloys / Q000737:chemistry*; D020724:Elastomers / Q000737:chemistry; D005260:Female; D017276:Friction; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008422:Materials Testing; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D016910:Orthodontic Brackets; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry*; D013314:Stress, Mechanical; D013499:Surface Properties; D013997:Time Factors; D014087:Tooth Movement Techniques / Q000295:instrumentation*
D003722:Dental Alloys; D020724:Elastomers; D013193:Stainless Steel