In vitro comparison of static frictional forces of 6 different ligation types in dry and wet state

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the frictional forces produced by five different orthodontic brackets when used in combination with stainless steel and beta titanium archwires. In this study, four types of esthetic (Transcend 6000 SeriesTM, ClarityTM, Inspire IceTM and Brilliant TM ) and one metal bracket (Victory SeriesTM ) with Standard Roth prescription and 0.022x0.029 inch slot size were used. The brackets were used in combination with stainless steel and beta titanium archwires of 0.019x0.025 inch dimensions. Frictional forces released were measured in vitro by a Zwick Universal testing machine (model no Z250). To evaluate the effect of secon order angulation on friction, the brackets and archwires were tested for passive (0°) and active (5°) configurations. According to the data obtained, when used in combination with stainless steel and beta titanium archwires in active and passive configurations, the Transcend bracket revealed the highest frictional forces. The frictional forces measured for the Transcend bracket were significantly higher than the Victory and Clarity brackets which revealed similar frictional forces. Transcend and Inspire Ice brackets resulted in statistically similar frictional values. The Brilliant bracket, in general, showed similar frictional behaviour to both the Victory and the Clarity brackets and the values obtained for this bracket were statistically lower than the values revealed by the Transcend and Inspire Ice brackets. Beta titanium archwire showed higher frictional forces than the stainless steel archwire in all bracket combinations except for the Brilliant bracket. The findings with the Brilliant bracket revealed that beta titanium and stainless steel arhwires have similar frictional characteristics. For all the bracket arhwire combinations, the frictional force values increased as the second order angulation between the bracket and archwire increased. Key words: Frictional force, bracket, archwire, angulation