Comparison of frictional resistance between various bracket types and archwire materials ligated with low-friction and conventional elastic ligatures

Abstract

Background: Friction plays a very crucial role in our daily life and orthodontics is no exception. Various materials possess friction of varying intensity, which ultimately affects tooth movement. Aim: The aim was to compare the frictional resistance (FR) between various bracket types and archwire materials when ligated with low-friction and conventional elastic ligatures so as to obtain best bracket-archwire combination possessing least FR for clinicians in achieving optimal mechanotherapy. Materials and Methods: Study consisted of three types of preadjusted edgewise brackets including ceramic, stainless steel (SS) and self-ligating brackets (0.022 slot, MBT prescription), two types of archwire materials, 0.019 × 0.025 SS and 0.019 × 0.025 Teflon coated (TC) and two types of ligatures including low-friction and conventional elastic ligature. A total of 10 combinations were formed with the above mentioned material. Each combination was tested 10 times on universal testing machine for FR. The data was statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and unpaired t-tests. Results: Self-ligating brackets exhibited least FR (2.35 ± 0.15N) followed by metal brackets. Ceramic brackets showed the highest FR (7.32 ± 0.10N). In general, the mean value for TC wire was less than that of SS wire indicating low FR possessed by TC wires. Results also showed that low-friction ligatures produce lower-friction when compared with conventional elastic module (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The study demonstrated that self-ligating brackets with TC wire showed the least FR and ceramic brackets with SS wire when ligated with conventional elastic ligature showed the highest FR.