Finite Element Analysis of Torque Induced Orthodontic Bracket Slot Deformation in Various Bracket-archwire Contact Assembly

Background And Objectives: Orthodontic fixed appliance therapy involves alignment of teeth through the bracket and archwires. The archwire twist (torque) imparts significant forces inside the bracket slot in refining the teeth position at the end of treatment. The objective of this in- silico study was to evaluate the torque induced bracket slot deformation in the commonly used 0.018 inch (") and 0.022" conventional Stainless Steel (SS) brackets with clinically relevant archwires during various angles of twist.

Methods: SS maxillary central incisor brackets of 0.018" width × 0.022" depth (0.457 mm × 0.558 mm) and 0.022" width × 0.028" depth (0.558 mm × 0.711 mm) were used. The SS archwires of 0.016" width × 0.022" depth (0.406 mm × 0.558 mm), 0.017" width × 0.025" depth (0.431 mm × 0.635 mm), 0.019" width × 0.025" depth (0.482 mm × 0.635 mm) and 0.021" width × 0.025" depth (0.533 mm × 0.635 mm) were engaged in the respective bracket slots. The assembled bracket-archwire Finite Element (FE) models were constructed. The archwire torque, the top, middle and bottom slot deformations (TSD, MSD, BSD) were obtained for the bracket-archwire combinations for various angles of archwire twist using FE Analysis (FEA).

Results: The torque, TSD, MSD and BSD for 30 twist of 0.016" × 0.022" archwire in 0.018" slot were 28.13 Nmm, 35.71 µm, 21.51 µm and 15.67 µm respectively, and for 0.017" × 0.025" archwire were 50.18 Nmm, 54.52 µm, 32.47 µm and 19.11 µm respectively. Similarly for 0.019" × 0.025" archwire in 0.022" slot and 0.021" × 0.025" archwire in 0.022" slot they were 38.82 Nmm, 50.78 µm, 31.47 µm and 16.82 µm, and 60.22 Nmm, 65.22 µm, 36.44 µm and 22.68 µm respectively.

Conclusions: The slot deformation was present in both 0.018" and 0.022" brackets which increased as the angle of twist increased. The TSD were higher than the MSD and BSD in all the bracket-archwire combinations. We conclude that there is only elastic deformation of bracket slots upto 30 angle of twist and clinicians could maintain within this torque limits to avoid plastic deformation leading to improper teeth position.