012-257 Segner PDF
012-257 Segner PDF
012-257 Segner PDF
It is the wire that drives or guides the teeth, no matter how advanced the brackets may be,
or whether they are self-ligating or not. The sensible selection of the archwires during the
different treatment phases has therefore a major influence on the treatment efficiency.
This article will show the principle and give the clinician a guide to select the right wire
at the right time. It should be pointed out that due to the variety of malocclusions and
the variability of individual tissue reaction, it is not possible to give fixed time frames for
changing to the next archwire. Rather, it is an important clinical decision if the tasks of a
certain treatment stage are resolved and the treatment can progress to the next stage and
next archwire.
1
Figure 1: Wire in an active state.
2
Figure 2: Wire in a passive state.
Dimension
During the alignment phase there is no need for a tight fit of the archwire in the bracket
slot, as the differences between the archwire dimension and the slot dimension are up to
0.15 mm, while the positioning precision during the first alignment stage needs to be only
about 0.5 mm. For a number of reasons, it is even desirable to have undersized wires in the
alignment stage. The play between archwire and bracket slot reduces friction and potential
binding with severely irregularly positioned teeth. Also the force-deflection curves of thin
super-elastic wires are usually better because they show the correct force level immediately
3
Figure 3: Force associated with 3 archwires.
4
Figure 4: Force characteristics of Nitinol HA (HANT) in dimension 14 round.
until the deflection falls below 0.35 mm, so with one single archwire
we achieve almost perfect leveling if we just leave the wire in and
give it a chance to express itself fully, which might take anywhere
from 5 weeks to 5 months.
In order to optimize the biological response, and avoid the risk of
force that is too high, the initial archwire should be super-elastic
and its force level should be significantly below 100 g of force. The
optimal wire therefore is the 14 Nitinol Heat Activated both for the
18 system and the 22 system (Figure 4).
After the alignment phase, the slots will be quite well aligned.
If a second archwire is necessary for the leveling stage, the
deflection of that archwire due to misaligned bracket slots will
be below 0.5 mm. Since none of the super-elastic archwires
has a plateau of constant force below 0.5 mm, the aspect of
superelasticity becomes unimportant for the second and all
following wires of the treatment. Now it becomes crucial that the
wire has the correct dimension to get full expression of the bracket
prescription as described above.
During the working stage the wires operate in the passive Mode 2.
They should have sufficient stiffness to counteract any undesired
movements or rotations. Since the leveling phase achieved perfect
alignment of the bracket slots, insertion of such a stiff archwire
should not present a problem. Only wires of Beta III Titanium or
stainless steel provide sufficient stiffness. Especially in extraction
cases, steel is to be given preference.
5
Making Bends
Although the philosophy of the MBT appliance system is to
avoid bending as much as possible, by achieving perfect bracket
positioning through indirect bonding and if required early
repositioning of brackets in the leveling phase, it sometimes might be
necessary to implement bends, especially during the finishing phase.
When a corrective bend is applied, it is usually to achieve a change
from the previous situation. This means that in this moment the
archwire is changing into Mode 1 again, the active mode. In
addition to the property of accepting precise bends, the archwire
material should also deliver the stored energy with physiologic
forces. Especially in the 22 system even small corrective bends in a
stainless steel wire exert significant amounts of force. To decrease
the force level and associated pain for the patient, it is of benefit
to use the lower modulus of elasticity of the Beta III Titanium
material. The same corrective bend in the same dimension archwire
will exert only 50% of the force in comparison to a stainless steel
wire. Therefore, the Beta III Titanium material is the recommended
material for finishing wires.
Self-Ligating Brackets
In principle, treatment with self-ligating brackets in the MBT system
can proceed with the same wires as with conventionally ligated
brackets. The only difference of significance is the rotational control
in the leveling phase. All self-ligating brackets have a fixed slot
depth of 0.0275" (0.027" for the lower anteriors) defined by the
clips or slides. In order to be able to effect de-rotation or control
undesired rotation, the archwire needs to fill this slot depth with a
play of not more than 0.0025". Therefore a single round wire will
not give perfect rotational control without adding a ligature on the
tooth in question.
Two options are available to the orthodontist: the first is to finish the
leveling with an archwire that has a 25 for the horizontal dimension.
For the 18 slot dimension, archwires of the dimension 1425 and
1625 were introduced, while in the 22 system 1725, 1825,
and 1925 wires have been available for a long time. The second
option is to fill the slot in the buccolingual direction using two round
archwires, which is called the Tandem Archwire Technique. For the
18 slot system this would be two 14 Nitinol HA archwires, while in
the 22 slot system it could either be also two 14 dimension wires
or a 14 and a 16 Nitinol HA wire used in tandem. The latter variant
might activate the clip a bit, leading to some pressure of the clip on
the wire(s) (Figure 5).
In many cases, the initial alignment wire from the upper jaw can
be transferred to the lower jaw and added to the alignment wire
already present there. Often it would also be possible to transfer a
lower alignment wire to the upper jaw and let this second wire run
only up to the first molar.
Wire Selection
To make the selection of wires for an optimal biomechanic
efficiency easier, a table has been assembled that lists the
recommended wires for the different treatment stages in the
MBT appliance system (Table 1). The table has columns for the
18 system as well as the 22 system. Also, the special requirements
of self-ligating brackets in the MBT system are addressed in the
table. In the rightmost column, suggestions for special treatment
tasks are given. These wires are only needed in certain cases
to make the treatment easier and more efficient for the patient.
Listing a strict, non-negotiable order of archwires or recommended
time intervals for the archwires to reside in the mouth has been
purposely avoided. Such inflexible cookbook-style recommendations
violate clinical experience as well as common sense and would be
contrary to the philosophy of the MBT system.
14 HANT
Tasks:
Activating cellular
reaction
Initial de-rotation
14 HANT
Variations:
then for
self-ligating only:
14+16 HANT
Tandem
Avoid binding
Torque effect initially usually
not desirable
Leveling Stage
Self-Ligating:
Variations:
Tasks:
F inal de-rotation/
re-establishing correct
contact points
1425 HANT
or
14+14 HANT
Tandem
If torque matters
1625 NCL
Establishing torque
Correcting angulations
Leveling Curve of Spee
Non-Self-Ligating:
16 Australian
then
1625 Beta III
Titanium
Working Stage
Tasks:
C
losing of extraction
spaces
R
etracting anterior teeth
with torque control
Self-Ligating +
Non-Self-Ligating:
1925 HANT
For additional
vertical leveling:
18 SS
1622 NSE
reversed curve
Variations:
If torque matters
1925 NCL instead of
1925 HANT
For additional
vertical leveling:
18 SS
20 SS
1925 NSE
reversed curve
1925 Beta III Titanium
Variations:
1925 SS
Variations:
If no space closure
required:
1625 Beta III
Titanium
Variations:
Variations:
1622 Braided
Alternative would be
using a positioner
1925 Braided
Alternative would be
using a positioner
1625 SS
or
1725 SS Hybrid
(with crimp hooks)
If no space closure
required:
1925 Beta III Titanium
Finishing Stage
Tasks:
Correct midlines
Root alignment
Overbite/overjet
Functional occlusion
If already in place:
1725 SS hybrid
1625 SS
If already in place:
1925 SS
Settling Stage
Tasks:
Maximizing
intercuspidation
Table 1: Recommended wires by treatment phase, MBT Versatile+ Appliance System. Note: Wire selection should be made on a case-by-case basis.
NCL: Nitinol Classic; NSE: Nitinol Super-Elastic; HANT: Nitinol HA; SS: Stainless Steel.