Influence of stainless steel inserts on the resistance to sliding of esthetic brackets with second-order angulation in the dry and wet states.

Stainless steel (SS) inserts have been added to plastic, ceramic, and composite brackets to improve their frictional characteristics while preserving their esthetic appeal. When coupled with SS archwires, the resistances to sliding of esthetic brackets with and without SS inserts were compared with control brackets of SS. The resistances to sliding were measured in both the dry and wet (saliva) states at 32 second-order angles between -12 and + 12 degrees. When clearances existed between the walls of the brackets and the archwires, the resistances to sliding for the esthetic brackets without inserts were between 38 cN in the dry state and 73 cN in the wet state; those of the esthetic brackets with inserts ranged from 42 cN in the dry state to 65 cN in both states. The resistances to sliding of the SS brackets equaled 38 and 52 cN in the dry and wet states, respectively. When clearances no longer existed, the resistances to sliding for the esthetic brackets with and without inserts generally increased with angulation at a rate equal to or greater than that of the SS brackets--except for the polycarbonate (PC) brackets in the dry state. Because PC brackets without inserts elastically deformed, they had lower resistances to sliding when deformation occurred. For the polycrystalline alumina brackets without inserts, the resistances to sliding increased rapidly and nonlinearly as angulation increased above 4.8 degrees. Upon examination, the presence of scratches on the archwires and SS debris on the brackets was observed. The addition of these particular SS inserts did not considerably improve the resistance to sliding over those esthetic brackets without inserts.