A comparative study of the static and kinetic frictional resistance of titanium molybdenum alloy archwires in stainless steel brackets

This ex vivo study compared the static and kinetic frictional resistance of eight different archwires tested in a single, stainless steel, zero base 0.022 x 0.028 inch (0.56 x 0.711 mm) slot standard edgewise bracket. The archwires evaluated were 0.019 x 0.025 inch (0.483 x 0.636 mm) in dimension, manufactured from the following alloys: beta titanium (TMA(TM)), 'low friction' coloured beta titanium (aqua, honeydew, purple and violet), ion-implanted beta titanium, Timolium(TM) and a stainless steel control. Prior to friction testing, bracket and archwire dimensions were measured by direct digital imaging via a desk-top computer linked to a binocular light microscope. Frictional force was evaluated using an Instron universal testing machine. All experiments were carried out at room temperature, with no ligation, in the dry state with 20 degrees of added torque. The results demonstrated that static and kinetic friction were statistically significant (P<0.001) for all archwire types. Ion-implanted and standard TMA(TM) archwires were found to have no significant advantage over stainless steel. The archwire alloys may be ranked as follows: stainless steel produced the lowest frictional resistance followed by honeydew, ion-implanted TMA(TM) and Timolium(TM), with aqua, purple and violet producing frictional resistance values as high as standard TMA(TM). It was also found that the percentage difference between the archwire and bracket slot dimensions claimed by the manufacturers and those measured in this experiment produced tolerances ranging from +5.37 to -6.67 per cent.