The influence of distal-end heat treatment on deflection of nickel-titanium archwire.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the deflection-force behavior of nickel-titanium (NiTi) orthodontic wires adjacent to the portion submitted to heat treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 106 segments of NiTi wires (0.019 x 0.025-in) and heat-activated NiTi wires (0.016 x 0.022-in) from four commercial brands were tested. The segments were obtained from 80 archwires. For the experimental group, the distal portion of each segmented archwire was subjected to heat treatment (n = 40), while the other distal portion of the same archwire was used as a heating-free control group (n = 40). Deflection tests were performed in a temperature-controlled universal testing machine. Unpaired Student's t-tests were applied to determine if there were differences between the experimental and control groups for each commercial brand and size of wire. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between the tested groups with the same size and brand of wire. CONCLUSIONS: Heat treatment applied to the distal ends of rectangular NiTi archwires does not permanently change the elastic properties of the adjacent portions.