Mechanical properties of orthodontic wires made of super engineering plastic

Abstract

Most orthodontic equipment is fabricated from alloys such as stainless steel, Co-Cr and Ni-Ti because of their excellent elastic properties. In recent years, increasing esthetic demands, metal allergy and interference of metals with magnetic resonance imaging have driven the development of non-metallic orthodontic materials. In this study, we assessed the feasibility of using three super engineering plastics (PEEK, PES and PVDF) as orthodontic wires. PES and PVDF demonstrated excellent esthetics, although PEEK showed the highest bending strength and creep resistance. PEEK and PVDF showed quite low water absorption. Because of recent developments in coloration of PEEK, we conclude that PEEK has many advantageous properties that make it a suitable candidate for use as an esthetic metal-free orthodontic wire.

Effects of different sulfuric acid etching concentrations on PEEK surface bonding to resin composite

“…PEEK has excellent mechanical properties, for example, creep resistance, low water absorption and high fracture resistance [1][2][3][4] . It has been proposed as a functional and esthetic metalfree material in various dental applications, such as implants 5) , temporary abutments 6,7) , orthodontic wires 8) , removable prostheses 9) and fixed prostheses 10) . Veneering resins are recommended to cover the underneath grayish and opaque color of PEEK-based restorations to mimic the natural tooth appearance 11) .…”

Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) as a medical and dental material. A literature review

“…Five were clinical reports [2,6,8,18,24] and 35 were papers on PEEK surface treatments [13][14][15][16][17] how the bioactivity of PEEK can be improved [1,21]; the characteristics of CFR-PEEK [3,7,[19][20]; the biocompatibility of PEEK [5]; PEEK applications [4,8,[10][11]30]; PEEK biofilm formation [22,[31][32][33][34], PEEK as an abutment material and as an implant material [12,23,[25][26][27][28][29]35,40] and the use of CAD-CAM with PEEK [36][37][38][39]. …”

“…Unlike metal, PEEK is biocompatible and has a natural tooth-colored appearance, hence its widespread use in implants, provisional abutments, implant supported bars, or clamp materials in the field of removable dental prostheses and maxillary obturator prostheses [9][10][11]. PEEK also offers an alternative to orthodontic wires for reasons of improved aesthetics, allergies to metals, and interference of metals with TC [10].…”

“…PEEK also offers an alternative to orthodontic wires for reasons of improved aesthetics, allergies to metals, and interference of metals with TC [10].…”

Mechanical properties of orthodontic wires covered with a polyether ether ketone tube

“…Previous research 40 has demonstrated the highquality physical properties of PEEK. A PEEK tube was developed as an auxiliary device to help make orthodontic treatment more efficient and to satisfy consumer esthetic demands.…”