[The friction behavior of the ceramic bracket in arch wire-guided tooth movement]

In spite of their wellknown disadvantages ceramic brackets are in great demand by orthodontic patients because of their aesthetic features. The amount of friction produced during tooth movement when a ceramic bracket slides along an arch wire, is still unknown. Using a custom-made friction test device the current study was undertaken to measure friction values of brackets of different manufactures with an 0.018 inch slot sliding along an 0.016 x 0.022 inch stainless steel arch wire. The results of this study showed that stainless steel brackets had slightly lower values than polycrystalline ceramic brackets. The monocrystalline bracket however showed significant greater friction values than both stainless steel and polycrystalline brackets even though its surface, as revealed with the scanning electron microscopy, proved to be quite smooth.