Comparison of the mechanical properties of nickel-free orthodontic archwires with application in patients with nickel allergy

S. Cherneva, V. Petrunov

Abstract: A wide range of orthodontic archwires is used in contemporary orthodontic practice. The increasing frequency of patients with hypersensitivity to Ni, necessitates the use of Ni-free materials. Except for the composite wires, there are three metal Ni-free archwires: Titanium-Molybdenum (Ti-Mo) alloy (known by the trade names TMA™, TitanMoly™ and etc.), Ti-Nb and TiМolium™. The literature data about the mechanical properties of these materials are not enough; proper characterization is required to predict the outcome when they are used clinically. In the present work we investigated and compared the mechanical properties of TitanMoly™ (G&H Orthodontics, Franklin, IN, USA), TiMolium™ (TP Labs, Indianapolis, Ill, USA) and Ti-Nb (ORMCO, Glendora, CA, USA) archwires with sizes 0.43 х 0.64 mm, using a combination of nanoindentation experiments and statistical analysis. Indentation hardness and indentation modulus varied significantly depending on the type of archwire (p > 0.001 for both measurements). TitanMoly™ was characterized by the highest indentation hardness (6.18 GPa), followed by TiMolium™ (4.62 GPa) and Ti-Nb (2.08 GPa). On the other hand, TiMolium™ was associated with the highest indentation modulus (138.89 GPa), followed by TitanMoly™ (120 GPa) and Ti-Nb (53.43 GPa).

Series on Biomechanics, Vol.36 No.2 (2022), 78-85
DOI: 10.7546/SB.36.2022.02.07

Keywords: mechanical properties; nanoindentation; Nickel-free orthodontic archwires

Date published: 2022-06-17