Orthodontic Bracket Friction Affected by Design Selection Material and Manufacturing Process

Abstract

One of the problems in orthodontic treatment is friction. Some of the factors that support friction are archwire material, archwire dimensions, bracket material, surface roughness, type of ligation, environmental humidity, and bracket position, angulation angle between bracket and wire, changes in the surface of the archwire and bracket. The aim of this study is to analyse the difference in friction between the two branded bracket designs and a new patented bracket (patent no. IDP000069597). The production method for this new bracket is different, however, uses the same material of 17-4 PH stainless steel. There are three groups in this research, one sample of bracket each from two different branded and one sample of a new bracket design. All three groups were tested for microstructure, then tested for measurement of friction between bracket slots and archwire. The microstructure of the two branded brackets has a martensitic phase that is not as dense as the new bracket, which is due to the different manufacturing method processes. The two branded brackets use the metal injection molding method, while the new brackets use the investment casting method. The friction test results show that there are significant differences between the three groups of brackets. One of the branded brackets (A) has the lowest friction, but branded bracket (B) does not have different friction with the new bracket. Differences in design and manufacturing methods of orthodontic bracket affect the friction between orthodontic brackets and archwires even though they use the same material.