Grant: Collaborative Research and Development Grants

As Canadians continue to place added significance on their oral health, research in this area has become*increasingly important. One key area of interest is orthodontic treatment. In orthodontic treatment using braces,*the archwire is the key element that delivers loads to teeth through brackets which are attached to the tooth. As*such, research into the biomechanics of archwires is imperative in the understanding of how applied loads*effect tooth movement throughout treatment. Smarter Alloys Inc. has developed a process by which they alter*the local material characteristics of nickel-titanium based shape memory alloy (SMA) archwires. This allows*clinicians the option of variable stiffness around an archwire, thereby facilitating tooth movement in certain*regions while preventing it in others. The Orthodontic Biomechanics Testing and Development Group at the*University of Alberta has a suite of experimental simulation equipment to study the biomechanics of*orthodontic appliances. They allow for the study of rotational mechanics between a single bracket and*archwire, the friction between a bracket and archwire as they slide relative to one another, and the propagation*of loads around the arch. These pieces of equipment will be utilized to measure the loads generated by*processed archwires using Smarter Alloys techniques as well as conventional SMA archwires. Experimental*findings will elucidate how processing of SMA archwires influences their interactions with brackets and how*these processed archwires compare to those typically used in orthodontic treatment. This work will provide*Smarter Alloys with valuable information allowing for the improvement of their product as well as*significantly contribute to the study of orthodontic biomechanics on the whole.