Comparison of force loss during sliding of low friction and conventional TMA orthodontic archwires: An in vitro study

OBJECTIVE: The goal was to measure and compare the amount of force loss during tooth movement guided by archwires, including a newly introduced low-friction titanium molybdenum alloy (TMA), conventional TMA, and stainless steel archwires. METHODS: The force loss was measured using a specialized biomechanical set-up, the orthodontic measurement and simulation system (OMSS). A total of 30 specimen were used (10 low-friction TMA (TMA-Low), 10 conventional TMA (TMA-C), and 10 stainless steel (SS) archwires, each having a dimension of 0.016 × 0.022 inches). The conventional and low friction TMA archwires served as test groups, while the SS archwires served as the control group. RESULTS: The mean values of force loss between the three types of wires (TMA‑C, TMA-Low, and SS) were significantly different (p < 0.0001). The highest mean force loss during sliding movement was found in the conventional TMA group (72.1%), followed by low friction TMA (48.8%) and stainless steel wires (33.7%) in a descending order. CONCLUSION: The friction property of the low friction TMA archwire was superior to the conventional TMA archwire but was still inferior to the stainless steel archwire.