Student Theses, Dissertations and Capstones

Document Type

Thesis - NSU Access Only

Degree Name

Master of Science (M.S.) in Dentistry

Copyright Statement

All rights reserved. This publication is intended for use solely by faculty, students, and staff of Nova Southeastern University. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, now known or later developed, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author or the publisher.

Department

College of Dental Medicine

First Advisor

Cristina Godoy

Date of original Performance / Presentation

January 2021

Publication Date / Copyright Date

1-1-2021

Abstract

Introduction: Efficient orthodontic treatment relies largely on the understanding of mechanical forces. Materials such as elastomeric chains can be extended to apply these forces to help close space or rotate teeth to their desired position. Previous literature has shown a gradual loss of effectiveness of orthodontic elastomeric chains due to an inability to maintain force expression over time. This force decay heavily depends upon the composition of the chain, the duration of use, and the oral stimulus environment. Minimizing the amount of force decay is essential for efficient orthodontic treatment. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the association between force decay and color pigmentation of orthodontic elastomeric chain manufactured by three popular companies. Methods: A total of one hundred and twenty samples of short filament configuration orthodontic elastomeric chain from three different companies – Rocky Mountain Orthodontics (RMO), American Orthodontics (AO) and 3M Unitek AlastiK (3M) – were used for conducting the study. Each company was equally divided into four different colors of elastomeric chain. The chains were stretched a distance of 25 mm while immersed in distilled water at 37-degrees Celsius. The force delivery of each chain were tested and recorded at 0, 1, 8, 24 and 72 hours and 1, 2, and 4 weeks. Mechanical tests were performed using a Shimpo FGV-1XY electronic force gauge (Shimpo Instruments, Itasa, IL). Results: Descriptive statistics were done on the forces of each color and company at each time point. There was an increase in force decay over time and most of the force decay occurred within the first hour. In terms of force decay, on average RMO had the least amount of force decay, followed by 3M, and AO had the greatest amount of force decay. A three-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was done to evaluate the significance of force decay within companies and among companies. Color, company, and time, and their interactions played a statistically significant effect on the force decay of elastomeric chain. Based on their f-values, time attributed most to the force decay followed by company, while color attributed the least. Although the p-values of all variables were statistically significant, the omega squared demonstrated that color had a very small effect (omega squared 0.00) while company had a large effect (omega squared 0.98). Conclusions: The results of this study reveal that the force of orthodontic elastomeric chain significantly decreased over time and is more specifically effected according to its company rather than color. It is important for the orthodontist to take into consideration the composition of the elastomeric chain, which differs by company, and the amount of force decay of the chain when selecting which elastomeric chains to use and how much stretch to apply for orthodontic space closure.

Disciplines

Dentistry

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