The Biomechanics of Posterior Maxillary Arch Expansion Using Fixed Labial and Lingual Appliances
The Biomechanics of Posterior Maxillary Arch Expansion Using Fixed Labial and Lingual Appliances
The Biomechanics of Posterior Maxillary Arch Expansion Using Fixed Labial and Lingual Appliances
a
PhD Student, Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
b
Private Practice, Fort Collins, Colo, USA.
c
MSc Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
d
Undergraduate Student, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta,
Canada.
e
Professor and Associate Dean, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada.
f
Professor and Department Chair, Department of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada.
g
Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and School of Dentistry, Faculty of Medicine
and Dentistry University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Corresponding author: Dr Dan L. Romanyk, Assistant Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Adjunct, School of Dentistry,
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
(e-mail: dromanyk@ualberta.ca)
Accepted: May 2020. Submitted: January 2020.
Published Online: June 29, 2020
Ó 2020 by The EH Angle Education and Research Foundation, Inc.
chanical behavior3,4 of fixed lingual appliances. As set-up with the exception of the full amount of planned
forces and moments generated by activated applianc- expansion. Other authors have suggested that lingual
es are the driving factors for resulting tooth movement, appliances have restrictive transverse effect when
understanding the biomechanics of lingual fixed compared with their labial counterpart in the premolar
appliances is critical for their clinical efficacy. and molar region.10,11 Although qualitative evidence
The biomechanics of fixed lingual mechanotherapy surrounding archwire expansion exists, quantitative
is different from that of fixed labial appliances as the evidence regarding the amount of expected expansion
point-of-force application with respect to the center of and the force and moment systems produced remains
resistance (CR) of teeth varies between the two elusive. Thus, the overall goal of this in vitro study was
appliances and the interbracket distance is substan- to elucidate the initial biomechanical systems produced
tially smaller in lingual treatment. The mushroom by straight lingual, mushroom lingual, and fixed labial
lingual archwire, introduced by Fujita,5 has a first-order appliances and to simulate the expected amount of
bend between the canine and first premolar that expansion for posterior teeth using an expected force
increases the length of archwire between the canine threshold to produce tooth movement.
and first premolar. The bend also alters how the
archwire deforms when exposed to tooth movements MATERIALS AND METHODS
that, in turn, affects the magnitude of applied forces
and moments. The first-order bend further allows for a An in vitro electro-mechanical orthodontic simulator
close adaptation of brackets to the teeth for the (OSIM; Figure 1) was used to quantify the forces and
mushroom lingual archwire. The straight lingual arch- moments generated around a simulated maxillary arch.
wire6 requires a thicker composite base between the A full detailed description of the OSIM and its
tooth and bracket that further decreases the interbrack- components for reference was provided in previous
et distance for the lingual appliance and can potentially studies.7,12 Briefly, it has horizontal and vertical
change the location of load application with respect to micrometers that allow for the control of simulated
the CR.7 Prior research has also demonstrated tooth movement in the buccal–lingual and vertical
significant differences in the biomechanical systems directions, respectively. The point of load application at
of straight and mushroom lingual archwires.7,8 simulated teeth is away from the point of load
Dental arch expansion through an engaged archwire measurement using six-axis load cells (Nano17, ATI
is one of the strategies used in orthodontics to resolve Industrial Automation, Apex, NC), which are rigidly
dental crowding. Grauer and Proffit9 demonstrated that fixed to the simulated teeth, as highlighted in Figure 1.
fully customized lingual orthodontic appliances were A FARO arm coordinate measurement machine
accurate in achieving the goals planned in the initial (FARO, Lake Mary, Fla) was used to determine the
Table 1. Sign Conventions for Positive Sense of Forces and Table 2. Lingual Movement of Teeth to Simulate a Constricted
Moments of Interest in Quadrants 1 and 2 of the Simulated Maxillary Maxillary Arch
Archa
Tooth Lingual Movement (mm)
Region Fx Fy Mx
Second molar 0.96
Quadrant 1 Mesial Buccal Moment causing buccal root tip First molar 1.65
Quadrant 2 Distal Buccal Moment causing buccal root tip Second premolar 1.83
First premolar 1.70
a
Fx indicates mesial–distal force; Fy, buccal–lingual force; Mx,
third-order moment. Canine 0.69
Jacobian transformation matrices between the load cell ensure any cases of buccal-directed force were
Table 3. Mean Expansion for the Three Archwire Groups Tested and Their Percent Expansion (n ¼ 30 for Each Archwire)
Tooth Group Mean Expansion (mm) 6 SDa % Expansion
Second molar Straight labial 0.02 6 0.034 –
Straight lingual 0.00 6 0.000 –
Mushroom lingual 0.02 6 0.019 –
First molar Straight labial 0.07 6 0.096 4
Straight lingual 0.36 6 0.064 22
Mushroom lingual 0.07 6 0.116 4
Second premolar Straight labial 0.18 6 0.075 10
Straight lingual 0.46 6 0.129 25
Mushroom lingual 0.18 6 0.102 10
of the three archwires. Straight lingual archwires N) was measured on the first premolar for all groups
created significantly (P , .05) more expansion on all with a significant difference (P , .001) between the
teeth compared with the mushroom lingual and straight straight lingual and the other two archwires. Straight
labial archwires. Specifically, the straight labial and lingual archwires exerted significantly larger initial
mushroom lingual archwires produced comparable buccal–lingual forces on all teeth except for the second
expansion (0.42 mm), but significantly less (P , premolar, where the mushroom lingual archwire
.001) than the straight lingual archwire for the first measured the largest mean Fy (0.95 N). The straight
premolar. For the second premolar and first molar, the labial archwires exerted the lowest initial force on all
straight lingual archwire produced significantly greater teeth except the first premolar where the mushroom
expansion (P , .001 and P , .001, respectively) lingual group was the lowest (1.18 N).
compared with the straight labial and mushroom lingual The maximum Mx was generated at the first
archwires. The straight lingual archwire produced premolar by the straight labial (12.81 Nmm), straight
marginally (P , .05) more expansion compared with lingual (12.40 Nmm), and mushroom lingual (11.63
the straight labial and mushroom lingual archwires on Nmm) archwires. The straight labial archwire produced
the canine. significantly lower moment at the canine (0.35 Nmm)
The initial Fy, Mx, and Fx values collected at the and first molar (0.02 Nmm) compared with the fixed
initial constricted position are provided in Tables 5 to 9. lingual archwires. Moments varied among teeth for
The maximum initial buccal force (straight lingual, 1.88 straight and mushroom lingual archwires. For the
N; straight labial, 1.28 N; and mushroom lingual, 1.18 canine (7.71 Nmm) and second premolar (8.20
Table 4. Pairwise Comparisons of Expansion Among the Three Archwires With Bonferroni Corrections (a ¼ 0.05)a
Mean
Tooth Group Group Difference (mm) SE P 95% CI
Second molar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.02 0.01 .01* 0.03 to 0.00
Mushroom lingual 0.01 0.01 1.00 0.01 to 0.01
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.02 0.01 .01* 0.03 to 0.00
First molar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.29 0.02 .00** 0.33 to 0.24
Mushroom lingual 0.00 0.02 1.00 0.05 to 0.05
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.29 0.02 .00** 0.33 to 0.24
Second premolar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.28 0.03 .00** 0.33 to 0.23
Mushroom lingual 0.00 0.03 1.00 0.05 to 0.05
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.28 0.03 .00** 0.33 to 0.23
First premolar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.28 0.03 .00** 0.34 to 0.23
Mushroom lingual 0.00 0.03 1.00 0.01 to 0.06
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.28 0.03 .00** 0.34 to 0.23
Canine Straight labial Straight lingual 0.05 0.02 .02* 0.09 to 0.01
Mushroom lingual 0.01 0.02 .68 0.05 to 0.03
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.04 0.02 .05 0.08 to 4.9E-5
a
CI indicates confidence interval; SE, standard error. * significant; ** highly significant.
Table 5. Mean Buccal–Lingual Forces, Fy, Acting on the Teeth of Table 7. Mean Third-Order Moment, Mx, Acting on the Teeth of
Interest (n ¼ 30 for Each Archwire) Interest (n ¼ 30 per Archwire)
Tooth Group Mean (N) 6 SDa Tooth Group Mean (Nmm) 6 SDa
Second molar Straight labial 0.23 6 0.09 Second molar Straight labial 0.65 6 1.87
Straight lingual 0.60 6 0.05 Straight lingual 3.65 6 0.89
Mushroom lingual 0.30 6 0.26 Mushroom lingual 3.02 6 1.97
First molar Straight labial 0.08 6 0.19 First molar Straight labial 0.02 6 1.91
Straight lingual 0.70 6 0.10 Straight lingual 6.07 6 1.32
Mushroom lingual 0.17 6 0.41 Mushroom lingual 0.52 6 2.80
Second premolar Straight labial 0.03 6 0.11 Second premolar Straight labial 0.85 6 1.25
Straight lingual 0.29 6 0.12 Straight lingual 0.10 6 1.15
Nmm), the mushroom lingual archwire exerted signif- archwire groups. There was negligible expansion and
icantly (P , .001) greater moment compared with the initial expansion forces exerted by any of the three
straight lingual archwire. Alternatively, the straight archwire groups on the second molar.
lingual archwire produced significantly more (P , The fixed straight lingual archwire produced more
.001) moment at the first molar (6.07 Nmm) compared mean expansion than the labial counterpart and
with the mushroom lingual archwire. mushroom lingual archwire for the same amount of
When considering Fx (mesial–distal forces), only the activation for almost all the tested teeth. The inter-
straight labial archwire produced a force on the second bracket distance between teeth (ie, length of archwire
molar that surpassed the proposed threshold of 0.2 N between two teeth) is less for the fixed lingual
necessary to cause tooth movement. Compared with appliances compared with a fixed labial appliance.
buccal–lingual forces, Fy, the measured mesial–distal The reduced distance increases the stiffness of an
forces were substantially smaller in magnitude (Table 9). archwire, and thus the force generated is more by the
two lingual archwire systems compared with the labial
DISCUSSION archwire. However, the initial buccal forces generated
Initial force levels and the total amount of expansion at the first premolars by the mushroom lingual archwire
varied among the tested archwire groups. Maximum was less compared with the other two archwires. This
expansion, expansion buccal–lingual forces, and mo- could be explained by the first-order bend between the
ments were observed at the first premolar for all three canine and first premolar that incorporates more
Table 6. Pairwise Comparisons of Buccal–Lingual Forces, Fy, With Bonferroni Corrections (a ¼ 0.05)a
Mean
Tooth Group Group difference (N) SE P 95% CI
Second molar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.35 0.05 ,.001** 0.28 to 0.46
Mushroom lingual 0.07 0.05 .10 0.2 to 0.16
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.30 0.05 ,.001** 0.21 to 0.39
First molar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.62 0.07 ,.001** 0.75 to 0.48
Mushroom lingual 0.25 0.07 .001** 0.11 to 0.38
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.86 0.07 ,.001** 0.99 to 0.73
Second premolar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.32 0.08 ,.001** 0.17 to 0.47
Mushroom lingual 0.92 0.08 ,.001** 1.07 to 0.76
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 1.24 0.08 ,.001** 1.09 to 1.39
First premolar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.61 0.18 .001** 0.96 to 0.26
Mushroom lingual 0.10 0.18 .58 0.25 to 0.45
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.71 0.18 ,.001** 1.06 to 0.35
Canine Straight labial Straight lingual 0.71 0.18 ,.001** 0.37 to 1.06
Mushroom lingual 0.56 0.18 .002** 0.91 to 0.21
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 1.27 0.18 ,.001** 0.92 to 1.62
a
CI indicates confidence interval; SE, standard error; **, highly significant.
Table 8. Pairwise Comparisons of Third-Order Moments, Mx, of the Three Archwires With Bonferroni Corrections (a ¼ 0.05)a
Mean
Tooth Group Group Difference (Nmm) SE P 95% CI
Second molar Straight labial Straight lingual 4.30 0.43 ,.001** 5.15 to 3.45
Mushroom lingual 3.68 0.43 ,.001** 4.52 to 2.83
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 0.62 0.43 .15 1.47 to 0.23
First molar Straight labial Straight lingual 6.10 0.54 ,.001** 5.02 to 7.18
Mushroom lingual 0.50 0.54 .36 1.57 to 0.58
Mushroom lingual Straight lingual 6.59 0.54 ,.001** 5.51 to 7.67
Second premolar Straight labial Straight lingual 0.75 0.61 .22 1.96 to 0.46
Mushroom lingual 7.34 0.61 ,.001** 6.13 to 8.56
archwire length and the changed shape of the archwire lingual archwires. This is in accordance with the
that could alter the resulting mechanics. The initial difference in the force applied by the fixed labial and
buccal force levels were significantly more with straight fixed lingual appliances. This reflects that there will be
lingual archwires compared with the mushroom lingual less of a change in third-order rotation with fixed labial
archwires possibly because of the short interbracket appliances compared with fixed lingual appliances.
span17 of straight lingual archwires caused by the Overall, all three archwires produced less than 42%
increased thickness of the composite base for the of the intended expansion with maximum expansion at
bracket compared with closely adapted mushroom the premolar region. These results were consistent
lingual brackets. with the clinical results of the study by Grauer and
All three archwires generated clinically significant Proffit9 that suggested that a fully customized lingual
(.5 Nmm)7 moments on the first premolars even appliance did not achieve the full planned expansion.
though an archwire cross-section of 0.0175 3 0.0175
Therefore, clinically, this study suggests minimum
titanium molybdenum archwire (TMA) was used that is
activation to be twice the intended expansion for both
suggested to be of sufficient thickness to create a
labial and lingual fixed archwires in orthodontic
couple (in the 0.018 00 3 0.025 00 bracket system) to
patients. Straight lingual archwires produced more
counter the moment created by the application of force
expansion than the mushroom lingual and straight
away from the CR of the tooth.18 Moments generated
by the three archwires concurred with the applied labial archwires on the tested teeth for a simulated
forces except for the canine where mushroom lingual constricted arch. From a clinical standpoint, should
archwires generated more moment that could tip the archwire expansion be a likely component of treatment,
root buccally compared with the straight lingual these results make a good argument for using straight
archwires that generated an opposing moment that lingual archwires for constricted arch cases. Interest-
could potentially tip the root lingually. This again ingly, the second molar experienced a restrictive
probably resulted because of the shape of the transverse effect with all three archwires for 0.96 mm
mushroom lingual archwire between the canine and of activation. Thus, in a clinical scenario, archwire
first premolar that changed the biomechanics com- expansion may not be adequate for expansion at the
pared with a straight archform. Fixed labial archwires second molar for 0.96 mm of activation, and alternate
had less moment generated compared with fixed methods such as overlay wires could be applied.
Table 9. Mean Mesial–Distal Forces (Fx) Acting on Teeth of Interest at the Initial Crowded Position for Labial Straight, Lingual Straight, and
Lingual Mushroom Archwires
Second First Second First
Archwire Group Molar, Fx (N) Molar, Fx (N) Premolar, Fx (N) Premolar, Fx (N) Canine, Fx (N)
Mushroom lingual 0.15 0.15 0.14 0.18 0.13
Straight lingual 0.03 0.04 0.01 0.14 0.09
Straight labial 0.25 0.05 0.09 0.15 0.07
As with any in vitro study, there are inherent 2. Jacobson A. The bending art system. Am J Orthod
limitations that should be considered regarding the Dentofacial Orthop. 1998;114:A1.
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2014;10:4.
could produce differing magnitudes of results, but the 4. Sifakakis I, Pandis N, Makou M, Eliades T, Katsaros C,
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