Cytotoxic effect of orthodontic appliances

The use of orthodontic appliances may contribute to local gingivitis, often attributed to increased plaque retention. Gingivitis of bacterial origin cannot clinically be distinguished from local tissue irritation caused by corrosion products. The purpose of this investigation was to assess the cytotoxic effect of various metallic components used in orthodontics. Multicomponent devices such as facebows, molar bands, and brackets along with single-component brackets and archwires were tested by the agar overlay cytotoxicity test with mouse fibroblast cells. None of the archwires caused any cytotoxic effect, even though some contained 54 per cent nickel. However, the multi-component devices, which were joined with silver- and copper-based brazing alloys were more cytotoxic than the single-component devices. Copper is more cytotoxic than nickel, which could explain the greater cytotoxic effect of the samples with brazing materials. It is speculated that cytotoxic corrosion products from orthodontic appliances might contribute to localized gingivitis.