Comparisons of surface roughnesses and sliding resistances of 6 titanium-based or TMA-type archwires

Six titanium-based or TMA-type archwires (Beta III, Resolve, CNA, TMA, low-friction ion-implanted TMA or TMAL, and TiMolium) were studied as functions of composition, morphology, surface roughness, and sliding mechanics by using a scanning electron microscope, an x-ray energy dispersive wavelength analyser, a laser specular reflectometer, and a frictional testing machine. In the last instrument, all wires were coupled with 0.022-in stainless steel brackets in which normal forces were applied by 0.010-in stainless steel ligatures. With regard to composition, 5 wires were true beta-titanium alloys having nominal compositions of 80% titanium, 10% molybdenum, 6% zirconium, and 4% tin, and 1 was an alpha-beta alloy having a nominal composition of 90% titanium, 6% aluminum, 3% vanadium, and 1% other. Morphologies varied from surfaces with striations, scale, or layers of drawn material that suggested surface steps or fissures. Specular reflectance and optical roughness measurements divided the archwires into 2 groups of 3: Beta III, Resolve, and CNA had an overall mean value of 0.148 microm; and TMA, TMAL, and TiMolium had a mean overall value of 0.195 microm. These roughness measurements and their accompanying details of the compositional analyses suggested that there could be as few as 2 vendors manufacturing the 5 beta-titanium products. For 6 different values of angulation that embraced the passive and active regions of sliding, the coefficients of friction varied rather narrowly from 0.17 to 0.27 and were independent of surface roughnesses. Although these contemporary products are better than their predecessors of over a decade ago, other issues might be more important than surface finishes or frictional resistances because all products appear fairly comparable.