Evaluation of the straight arch wire concept

Abstract

A n increasing number of orthodontists who work with some sort of edgewise technique are changing their armamentarium of conventional edgewise brackets to a more sophisticated system that allows them to work with arch wires that are unbent except for the basic arch form (straight arch wire). Hence, an increasing number of orthodontic supply companies promote such systems. They carry different names, but all of them ultimately have the same goal-to reduce the time needed by the orthodontist to bend arch wires. (The first company who used and promoted such a system on a large scale called it “the straight wire appliance.“) By looking more closely at the different systems, the orthodontist might detect a rather large variation in the built-in features from one company to another and even within a company’s own system. Many companies claim to have developed-in close cooperation with outstanding clinicians-the ideal system that allows the user to work with no bends (other than the arch form) or with a minimal number of bends. The buyer of any such system, however, should remember that he can buy only the brackets (prewelded on bands or on direct bonding pads) but not the skills of the clinicians who helped the company to develop its system. What might work in one clinician’s hand might not work in another’s. This article seeks to offer the clinician a better understanding of what to expect from the straight arch wire concept and what to consider in the purchase of a straight arch wire system. I believe that a straight arch wire system-correctly applied-can actually help to decrease chair time.