No abstract

Objective: To ascertain the dimensional accuracies of some commonly used ceramic self-ligation brackets and the amount of torsional play in various bracket-archwire combinations. Results: In all bracket systems, the slot tops were significantly wider than the slot bases (P , .001), yielding a divergent slot profile. Clarity-SLs (3M Unitek, Monrovia, Calif) showed the greatest divergence among the 0.022-inch brackets, and Clippy-Cs (Tomy, Futaba, Fukushima, Japan) among the 0.018-inch brackets. The Damon Clear (Ormco) bracket had the smallest dimensional error (0.542%), whereas the 0.022-inch Empower Clear (American Orthodontics, Sheboygan, Wis) bracket had the largest (3.585%). Conclusions: The largest amount of theoretical play is observed using the Empower Clear (American Orthodontics) 0.022-inch bracket combined with the 0.016 3 0.022-inch TMA wire (Ormco), whereas the least amount occurs using the 0.018 Clippy-C (Tomy) combined with 0.016 3 0.022-inch SS wire (Ortho Technology). (Angle Orthod. 2016;86:804-809.)