Flexural activation and de-activation responses of orthodontic wires in single-tooth, occlusogingival corrections

An experimental design was developed to simulate the processes of the activation in flexure of a wire segment to engage an occlusogingivally-malposed tooth and the correction of that malalignment. Independent, controlled parameters, clinically referred, were wire material, mesiodistal bracket width, and inter-bracket distance. Full-cycle, activation/de-activation diagrams were generated for 96 specimens. Each load-deflection diagram was in five segments. Slope discontinuities occurred at the states of disappearance and reappearance of "second-order" clearances at the support sites. Ratios of the slopes of the diagrams above these discontinuities to their counterparts beneath the discontinuities were typically between 2:1 and 4:1. A segment of the diagram was distinct at the initiation of de-activation, and was related to the reversal of frictional forces at the supports. Generalizing, in some cases activation may not eliminate the cited clearances; in others, clearances may be negligibly small in the passive states. Apparently, analyses should ordinarily recognize the segmented formats of the activation and de-activation plots. In comparisons of activation with de-activation plots within the individual diagrams, differences in quantified properties for the cobalt-chromium- and nickel-titanium-alloy wires were sufficient to suggest further study toward an objective of predicting de-activation behavior from outcomes of an activation analysis.