ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Torsional properties of commercial nickel-

titanium wires during activation and deactivation
Julio de A. Gurgel, DDS, PhD,a Stephen Kerr, DDS,b John M. Powers, PhD,c and Arnaldo Pinzan, DDS, PhDd
Bauru, Brazil, and Houston, Tex

This study evaluated torsional moments on activation and deactivation in commercial, nickel-titanium wires
that are intended for use in the initial phases of orthodontic treatment. Nine commercial, rectangular nickel-
titanium wires (0.017 × 0.025 in) were tested in torsion. One wire was conventional nickel-titanium, and the
others were superelastic nickel-titanium wires. The specimens were tested in a torsiometer for rotations
between 10 and 40 degrees in activation and deactivation. Wires E27, RF and R had the highest moments
during activation and deactivation, without evidence of the plateau typical of the superelastic effect. Plateaus
of constant moment were observed for wires C27, C35, E35, MO, NS, and NI. Torsional moments varied
among superelastic nickel-titanium wires, even with wires that had the same transition temperature range.
Some superelastic wires had torsional moments that were comparable with conventional nickel-titanium wires.
(Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 2001;120:76-9)

N
ew orthodontic wires of various alloy composi-
tions are being developed that facilitate tooth
movement and reduce chair time. For the
patient’s benefit, the ideal wire should allow rapid
tooth movement with a minimum of discomfort and
reduced damage to the teeth and supporting structures.
From a clinical perspective, an ideal archwire should
possess good strength, stiffness, range, formability, and
weldability. Certainly, it has not been possible to find a
wire with all of these characteristics that could be used
in all phases of orthodontic treatment. Because they
exhibit several of these characteristics, the superelastic
nickel-titanium (NiTi) wires are useful in many clinical
applications. However, more research is needed to doc-
ument the characteristics of these alloys.
Conventional NiTi alloys that have a large working
range and low elastic modulus when compared with
stainless steel and chrome-cobalt alloys were devel-
oped in the late 1960s.1 In the early 1970s, the first
NiTi alloy, Nitinol, was marketed to orthodontists by
aAssistant Professor, Department of Orthodontics, University of Sagrado
Coração.
bAssociate Professor, Department of Orthodontics, University of Texas Health
Science Center at Houston Dental Branch.
cProfessor, Department of Restorative Dentistry and Biomaterials, Director,
Unitek. Nitinol was a passive, martensitic-stabilized
alloy that possessed low stiffness. The wire was quite
springy and delivered one fifth to one sixth of the force
per unit of deactivation as did stainless steel. This prod-
uct possessed 3 desirable qualities: low stiffness, good
range, and high springback. However, a major limita-
tion was the lack of formability.
In the mid 1980s, new NiTi alloys that demonstrated
superelastic behavior were introduced.2,3 In addition to
the martensitic-stabilized Nitinol, 2 other types of NiTi
alloys are available today: an austenitic-active alloy and
a martensitic-active alloy. Both exhibit some form of
shape-memory effect and are superelastic, properties
that result from changes in the atomic lattice of the alloy
from the austenitic phase to the martensitic phase
because of changes in temperature and stress.1
In the austenitic-active alloy, both the martensitic
and austenitic phases play an important role during
mechanical deformation. Martensite represents the
low-stiffness phase; austenite represents the high-stiff-
ness phase. On loading, the austenitic-active alloy
starts with a stiffness that produces approximately 3
times the force per activation of the conventional
martensitic-stabilized NiTi alloy. This effect soon gives
way to a long plateau-like area. A stress-induced phase

Houston Biomaterials Research Center, University of Texas Health Science
Center at Houston Dental Branch.
dAssociate Professor, Department of Orthodontics, University of Sagrado
Coraçaõ.
Reprint requests to: John M. Powers, PhD, UT-Houston Dental Branch, 6516
John Freeman, Houston, TX 77030-3402; e-mail, John.M.Powers@uth.tmc.edu.
Submitted, March 2000; revised and accepted, December 2000.
Copyright © 2001 by the American Association of Orthodontists.
0889-5406/2001/$35.00 + 0 8/1/115147
doi:10.1067/mod.2001.115147
76
transformation occurs in which the austenitic phase
transforms to the martensitic phase.4 On deactivation,
the reverse occurs because the linear region that is
associated with the martensitic phase of a conventional
alloy gives way to a second plateau region at a lower
force. The martensitic phase is gradually transformed
back to the austenitic phase. The second plateau region,
in which martensite transforms back to austenite and
American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Volume 120, Number 1
Table I. Codes and manufacturers of tested NiTi wires
Code Wire Manufacturer
C35 Copper Ni-Ti 35°C Ormco, Glendora, Calif
C27 Copper Ni-Ti 27°C Ormco
E35 Elastinol 35 Masel, Philadelphia, Pa
E27 Elastinol 27 Masel
MO Nickel-titanium Morelli, São Paulo, Brazil
NI Nitinol Heat-activated 3M/Unitek, Monrovia, Calif
NS NeoSentalloy F200 GAC, Islip, NY
R Rematitan Lite Dentaurum, Pforzheim, Germany
RF Original Reflex TP Orthodontics, LaPorte, Ind
changes shape to maintain force, represents the key
attribute of this nonlinear elastic alloy, pseudoelasticity.
Clinically, this means that a practitioner can align teeth
with a constant force.5
The martensitic-active alloy on the market today
exhibits a thermally induced shape-memory effect. Tran-
sition temperatures from martensite to austenite occur in
the region of ambient oral temperature. On distortion and
insertion into the patient’s mouth, the appliance is acti-
vated by the warmth of the oral cavity and returns to its
predetermined shape, a process called thermoelasticity.
Producing tooth movement with a known and con-
stant interval of force is more comfortable and takes
less time in the initial stage of the treatment. Some
authors have recommended superelastic rectangular
NiTi as the most suitable wire for the initial stages of
the orthodontic treatment.6 Laboratory tests to verify
the amount of force liberated by the deflection of
superelastic wires proved the existence of variability in
the amount of force produced by different commercial
brands.7,8 Recently, Filleul and Jordan9 measured tor-
sional properties of several superelastic wires and
found low rigidity over high deflections; however, vari-
ations in the generated force depended not only on the
degree of deformation but also on the crystalline struc-
ture and thermal transformation range.
The effectiveness of the torque depends not only on
the amount of torsional moment applied by the wire but
also on the adaptation of the wire in the bracket slot. A
poor fit means that some of the torque could be lost.
The importance of the effectiveness of the torque was
described by clinical observations10 and by specific
measurements of the chamfered edges in different
types of alloys.11,12 In comparisons of orthodontic
wires, NiTi wires had higher activation loss because of
rounded edges.11 Meling and Ødegaard12 observed that
none of the NiTi wires that were tested exhibited super-
elasticity when activated to 25°C and that the amount
of torsional clearance was significant because of
beveled edges.
Gurgel et al 77
Fig 1. Torsiometer.
Currently, several types of NiTi superelastic wires
are available that are distinguished by their transforma-
tion temperature of final austenite phase of 27°C,
35°C, and 40°C.5,13 The addition of copper in NiTi
alloy and the control of the transformation temperature
during production provide control of the amount of
resilience of the wire, depending on the temperature of
the oral cavity.14 Wires, therefore, should be selected
for their transformation temperature and for their
dimensions.13
Increasing interest in the use of superelastic wires
has resulted in an increase in the number of commer-
cially available wires. To aid in the clinical selection of
the most appropriate wire, this study evaluated tor-
sional moments on activation and deactivation in com-
mercial rectangular NiTi wires that were intended for
use in the initial phases of orthodontic treatment.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
Nine commercial NiTi wires (Table I) with dimen-
sions of 0.017 × 0.025 in were tested in torsion. One
wire was conventional NiTi wire (Original Reflex; TP
Orthodontics, LaPorte, Ind) and the others were super-
elastic NiTi wires (as classified by the manufacturers).
The specimens obtained were preformed arches. Seg-
ments of 13 mm in length were cut from the ends of the
preformed arches.
The specimens were tested in a torsiometer (Mem-
ocouple; Centre Suisse d’Eletronique et de Microtech-
nique SA; Fig 1) in an oven with a controlled tempera-
ture of 35°C. Two diametrically opposed jaws held the
ends of the wire. The jaws of the torsiometer held the
wire at a fixed distance of 5 mm to approximate inter-
bracket distance. One of the jaws was rotated from 10
degrees up to 40 degrees, in intervals of 5 degrees for
each activation. After clockwise rotation of 40 degrees
for activation, the deactivation began in a counter-
clockwise direction in 5-degree intervals. The torsional
moment generated at each activation and deactivation
interval was measured in Newton-centimeters (N-cm).
78 Gurgel et al American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
July 2001

Fig 2. Torsional moment–angular rotation curve for

wires NI, MO, NS, E35, C27, and C35.
Fig 3. Torsional moment–angular rotation curve for
wires E27, RF, and R.
Table II. Torsional moments for activation and deactiva-
tion for a rotation of 20 degrees observed for wires, in
decreasing order of activation moment vation and deactivation, without evidence of the
plateau typical of the superelastic effect. It should be
Mean torsional moment on Mean torsional moment on
activation, measured in deactivation, measured in noted that the deactivation curves are significant clini-
Wire Newton-centimeters (± SD) Newton-centimeters (± SD) cally, because they represent the level of moment avail-
able from the wire as it returns to its original form dur-
E27 0.91 (0.07)* 0.67 (0.04)
ing which tooth movement occurs.
R 0.90 (0.01) 0.80 (0.03)
RF 0.90 (0.04) 0.73 (0.05) Means and standard deviations of torsional
NI 0.78 (0.01) 0.44 (0.01) moments for activation and deactivation of the wires
MO 0.72 (0.02) 0.34 (0.00) measured at a rotation of 20 degrees are listed in Table
NS 0.72 (0.01) 0.37 (0.02) II. An activation of 20 degrees was selected because it
E35 0.70 (0.03) 0.31 (0.02)
was similar to the activation found in pretorqued
C27 0.65 (0.01) 0.43 (0.00)
C35 0.55 (0.01) 0.25 (0.02) brackets. Wire C35 had the lowest average activation
and deactivation moments, whereas C27, E35, MO
*N = 5; the Tukey-Kramer interval for comparisons of means among
and NS had similar values of moment. Wire NI had
wires at the 0.05 significance level was 0.05 N-cm.
lower activation and deactivation moments than E27,
RF, and R. Finally, E27, R, and RF had similar activa-
tion moments; R produced a larger deactivation
Mean values and standard deviations (n = 5) of tor- moment.
sional moment were calculated. Data were analyzed by 3-
way analysis of variance with factors of wire, angle, and DISCUSSION
activation versus deactivation. Angle and activation versus Superelastic wires of the martensitic stabilized NiTi
deactivation were treated as repeated measures. Means of alloy produced torsional moments that were remark-
torsional moments among wires were compared by a ably different. Selection of superelastic wires should be
Tukey-Kramer interval at a 0.05 significance level. based on the ability of these wires to produce a con-
stant moment over different degrees of rotation in tor-
RESULTS sion. As observed in other studies, not all NiTi wires
Figures 2 and 3 illustrate torsional moment versus have a plateau of constant moment.7,8,9,12
angle of rotation for activation and deactivation. NiTi wires are available in 2 main types: conven-
Plateaus of constant moment were observed for wires tional and superelastic, with variations in composition
C27, C35, E35, MO, NS, and NI (Fig 2). Wires E27, and transition temperature range. The variability of
RF, and R (Fig 3) had the highest moments during acti- these 2 factors alters the behavior of the alloy, resulting
American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics Gurgel et al 79
Volume 120, Number 1

ultimately in the presence or absence of the superelas- CONCLUSIONS

tic plateau near oral temperatures. The reason super-
elastic wires E27, RF, and R presented different activa-
tion-deactivation behaviors may be explained as
differences between martensitic transformation tem-
peratures and oral temperatures.
The addition of copper to NiTi alloy lowers its
rigidity and consequently reduces its activation and
deactivation moments. The distance between the acti-
vation and deactivation plateaus (known as hysteresis)
was smaller for the copper-alloyed wires, resulting in
less moment necessary for activation.14 Low hysteresis
was particularly noted for C27.
This laboratory study evaluated the rigidity
(moment/degree) of superelastic NiTi wires in torsion;
however, moments observed in laboratory studies are not
necessarily equal to moments transmitted to the tooth.
The jaws of the torsiometer allow some sliding of the
specimen, although this sliding would likely result in a
different stiffness in the wire than that found in clinical
conditions. In addition to factors related to the tooth and
its supporting structures, the adaptation of the orthodon-
tic wire in the bracket slot must be considered. Failure of
a wire to engage a bracket at the desired angle can result
in lower activation and deactivation moments.
The orthodontist who uses rectangular and square
superelastic wires to promote simultaneous alignment,
leveling, and torque can select the most appropriate wire
while taking resilience into consideration. This study
showed that the selection of the superelastic wires must
be based not only on the transition temperature but also
on rigidity. For wires with the same transition tempera-
ture, the choice depends on the different moments
obtained from equivalent activation. Wires that produce
low moments (such as wire C35) may not allow correc-
tion of the torque as well as wires with higher rigidity
(such as R and RF). Because of these problems, final
correction of alignment, leveling, and torque can be
accomplished with the use of stainless steel rectangular
wire.
Torsional moments varied among superelastic NiTi
wires, even with wires that have the same transition tem-
perature range. Some superelastic wires had torsional
moments comparable with conventional NiTi wires.
Wires were provided by the manufacturers.
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