OLD AND NEW BIOMATERIALS FOR ORTHODONTIC ARCHWIRES. REVIEW

Abstract

Innovations in the scientific and technological field have allowed the influx of a multitude of novel orthodontic products at an increasing rate starting in the 1980s, and such unavoidably brought about the imperative for the orthodontic specialist to have a thorough knowledge of the dental materials properties and science. Nowadays, the advancement of research in this field has conveyed the implementation of several new products that are distinguishable from their precursors and are based on contemporary compositions and it is increasingly difficult for the practitioner to keep up the pace with the rapid developments in this field. Despite the abundance of information there is a glaring lack of consensus regarding the bracket-wire complex such as fluctuations of friction during sliding mechanics of wires on the surfaces of slots of different sizes of brackets and with different prescriptions. This inconsistency may stem from the various research protocols adopted by different study groups and researchers for the study of the phenomenon. The objective of this paper is to analyze and summarize the novel wires and compare them to existing ones in order to assess the clinical relevance and possible chair side applications.

Keywords

• archwires
• biomaterials
• friction
• nanomaterials
• orthodontic force