title: Three-point bending test comparison of fiber-reinforced composite archwires to nickel-titanium archwires.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Various alternatives to metal orthodontic archwires have produced varied successes over the years. This study sought to evaluate the bending properties of fiber-reinforced polymeric composite (FRC) archwires compared with similarly sized nickel-titanium (Ni-Ti) archwires.
  
  
  METHODS
  Two different 0.018-inch translucent FRC orthodontic wires (Translucent Archwire I and Translucent Archwire II) were tested against 0.014-, 0.016-, and 0.018-inch nonsuperelastic nickel titanium orthodontic wires. The wires in each group (n = 10) were evaluated with three-point bending using a universal testing machine. Wire segments were deflected at midspan to 3.1 mm at a rate of 2 mm/min. Loading and unloading slope and modulus were calculated, as were force values during activation and deactivation and elastic recovery.
  
  
  RESULTS
  It was found that the 0.018-inch Ni-Ti archwire demonstrated the highest force values at different deflection distances followed by Translucent Archwire II, 0.016-inch Ni-Ti, Translucent Archwire I, and finally 0.014-inch Ni-Ti. 0.016-inch Ni-Ti exhibited the highest modulus value, followed by 0.018-inch Ni-Ti, 0.014-inch Ni-Ti, Translucent Archwire II, and finally Translucent Archwire I. During deactivation, the elastic recovery of 0.014-inch Ni-Ti and 0.016-inch Ni-Ti was significantly greater than Translucent Archwire II.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The bending properties of BioMer's FRC archwires were found to be comparable to Ni-Ti, as advertised by the manufacturer.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, School of Dentistry, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA. rball1@lsuhsc.edu
authors.forename: Richard W
authors.initials: RW
authors.lastname: Ballard
authors.forename: Nikhil K
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Sarkar
authors.forename: Merrell C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Irby
authors.forename: Paul C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Armbruster
authors.forename: David W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Berzins
mesh_terms: D003722:Dental Alloys; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D008422:Materials Testing; D009532:Nickel; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D014025:Titanium
chemical_list: D003722:Dental Alloys; D009532:Nickel; D014025:Titanium