Orthodontic materials are evolving. The aim was to find out how this affects treatment outcomes. Brackets are getting smaller and smaller in the name of esthetics and patient comfort. The aim of this study was to find out if intrabracket width (the horizontal distance between bracket tie wings) had any effect on maxillary anterior root torque. We also aimed to find out if three common orthodontic archwires were capable of delivering the torque necessary to achieve ideal root torque.
A machine was developed to simulate lingual root torque of an upper central incisor. This is the first test of its kind, presumably because intrabracket width is thought to have no effect on torque. It was found that all three archwire groups were capable of delivering the torque needed to accomplish treatment goals. Torque was found in this experiment to be expressed differently in wide and narrow brackets. The wider bracket required less torque in the archwire to produce the same force compared to that in a narrow bracket. The implications of this finding are that orthodontists may need to adjust the torque being placed in archwires based upon the intrabracket width of the brackets they are using.