Combined intrusion and retraction generated by cantilevers with helical coils

Combined retraction and intrusion of the anterior teeth is often needed as part of orthodontic treatment. The use of a statically determinate force system has many advantages over statically indeterminate systems. In the case of the cantilevers the orthodontist can evaluate the line of action of the delivered force directly in the clinical situation. In the present paper the force system delivered by stainless steel and beta titanium cantilevers with an eccentrically placed helix was evaluated. The cantilever consisted of a straight piece of wire bent to form a helix with an external diameter of 3 mm. The wire was fixed into a bracket of sensor 1, touching sensor 2 of a test bench with a 1-point contact to. Activation was induced by rotating sensor 1 into which the wire was tightly fixed. This was done in 2 different modes, one in the direction in which the helix was bent and one in the opposite direction. With an interval of 5 degrees the force system generated with respect to sensor 1 and the direction of the force delivered to sensor 2 (the other bracket) were registered. The results were expressed graphically and the influence of material and activation mode were evaluated statistically by comparing the coefficient of regression. As expected, the influence of the material reflected the relative stiffness of the 2 alloys. As TMA is monocrystalline (i.e. consists of homogeneous crystals) the mode of activation did not reflect any significant Bauschinger effect as seen in the case of stainless steel. Analysis of the force direction confirmed that the suggested wire configuration is useful for delivery of a predetermined combination of horizontal and vertical force. This was confirmed by a finite element analysis.