Preformed arch wires: reliability of fit.

The preformed arch wires currently available are unsuitable for many orthodontic cases, since these arch wires do not take into account all the variations in the size and dimensions of the human arch. In this study, nine theoretical arch wires are derived, based upon two-parameter curves. Tests were conducted which demonstrated that arch wires performed to these nine sets of dimensions would correspond with a reasonable degree of accuracy to a large section of the orthodontic population.