Evaluation of frictional resistance in esthetic brackets

The purpose of this study was to measure the frictional forces generated between composite, ceramic, and metal brackets and selected wire alloy-size combinations with elastomeric and stainless steel ligatures in a dry environment. Four types of composite, one ceramic, one sapphire, and one metal bracket were tested with stainless steel, nickel-titanium, and beta-titanium wires. The testing was performed with two wire sizes in the 0.018-inch slot brackets and three wire sizes in the 0.022-inch slot bracket. The recently introduced composite brackets were found to offer lower frictional resistance than the ceramic and stainless steel brackets, regardless of the wire size, wire alloy, and type of ligation. The wire alloy with the least friction was stainless steel, followed by beta-titanium and nickel-titanium. Mean variability in friction, as reflected by the magnitude of the standard deviations, was 2.7 to 3 times more with the stainless steel ligation than the elastomeric ligation.