Influence of elastic chain in the degradation of orthodontic forces - in vitro study

AbstractIntroductionElastic chains are indispensable accessories in orthodontic treatment. Changes in their properties are of great interest to professionals in order to gain greater control over tooth movements.ObjectiveEvaluate the influence of trademark and length of the spacer chain on force degradation of elastic.Material and methodWe used the following elastic chain types: TP, Rocky Mountain (RMO) and GAC short, medium and long varieties. The elastics, which contained links corresponding to 12.5 mm, were tensioned between steel pins using Instron 4411 universal testing machine up to 25 mm. The value was recorded. After initial measurement of the force, the elastics were fixed on an acrylic resin plate and kept distended to 25 mm. They were inserted in a container with deionized water and kept in an incubator at 37º. The elastic force data was collected at time intervals of 24 hours, 48 hours, 7 days, 14 days, 21 days and 28 days. These records were subjected to an appropriate statistical test, with significance level of 5%.ResultTP elastics showed significantly higher force in all periods. RMO and GAC elastics showed similar elastic forces. Short and long TP elastics exhibited significantly higher strength than the average elastic chain. As regards GAC and RMO, short elastics showed higher than average force values, and higher values than the long type.ConclusionThe spacer chain and the brand influenced the results, reinforcing the importance of knowledge of different types of elastic.