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Equilibrium Clarified (& Geometries)
Equilibrium Clarified (& Geometries)
Equilibrium Clarified (& Geometries)
O n e reason to study the mechanics of inherent equilibrium forces tending to rotate the
tooth movement is to understand and be able to entire system in an opposite direction with an equal
predict how teeth will move in response to specific moment"? (A couple is two equal and opposite
force application. Another reason is to be able to forces that act along parallel lines, but are not
predict the forces that will result from the use of a colinear. 2) They continue, "The equilibrium of a
specific appliance. A lack of understanding of equi- couple is analogous to the reciprocal of a force in
librium makes it very difficult to understand and that it represents the equal and opposite response
apply the rest of the subject of mechanics. The required by Newton's First Law." In a separate
purpose of this article is to clarify the concept of article they state, "The direction and amount of net
equilibrium. equilibrium forces result from the amount of net
moment created at adjacent brackets. ''~ The con-
CURRENT EXPLANATIONS OF EQUILIBRIUM cept of equilibrium can be difficult to understand,
Several articles have discussed equilibrium. even after reading excellent articles like these.
Burstone and Koenig 1 developed the concept that
it is possible to describe the entire force system, A NEW EXPLANATION-FOCUS ON
which includes forces and moments, produced by THE APPLIANCE
an orthodontic appliance. (A moment is a measure Equilibrium is defined as "a state of balance
of the tendency to produce rotation)) The authors between or among opposing f o r c e s . . , resulting in
depend heavily on equilibrium for their thesis, the absence of acceleration . . . . ,6 The concept has
saying that " . . . unknowns (forces and moments) its basis in Newton's first and second laws of
can be found using the laws governing equilib- motion. Newton's first law states, "a body at rest
rium." To describe equilibrium, they state, "The remains at rest and a body in motion remains in
wire must be in equilibrium, once it is placed uniform motion in a straight line unless acted upon
between two attachments. If it were not, the wire by an external force. ''~ The second law states, "the
would accelerate the patient out of the orthodon- acceleration of a body is directly proportional to
tist's office." Dr. Mulligan, in a separate article, the applied force and is in the direction of the
adds to the understanding of equilibrium by outlin- straight line in which the force acts." Therefore, if
ing three requirements, as follows: (1) "the sum of an object has unbalanced forces acting on it, it will
all the vertical forces present must equal zero"; (2) accelerate (Fig. 1, A). If the forces acting on an
"the sum of all horizontal forces present must object are arranged so that every force is balanced
equal zero"; and (3) "the sum of the moments by an equal and opposite force, the object will not
acting around any point must also equal zero. ''3 accelerate (Fig. 1, B). Teeth that are being moved
Two recent articles by Isaacson, Lindauer, and orthodontically are not in equilibrium, they are
Rubenstein4 further add to the explanation of equi- being accelerated. The only object that is in equi-
librium. They say, "The force system that activates librium is the orthodontic appliance at the moment
a couple and its moment is always accompanied by it is placed against the teeth.
In addition to being in equilibrium, the ortho-
aAssistant Professor of Orthodontics, University of Kentucky.
Copyright © 1995 by the American Association of Orthodontists.
dontic appliance must apply a force against the
0889-5406/95/$5.00 + 0 8/1/57024 teeth. Every appliance that is meant to move teeth
394
American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics Shellhart 395
Volume 108, No. 4
Fixed
/~ Reference
I f
A a b
B a b
Fig. 1. A, Single force acting on coil spring. If only one force acts on coil spring, it does not
compress. It accelerates to different position. Letter a = position before force application;
b = position after force application. Please note that coil has moved relativeto fixed reference point.
B, When two equal and opposite forces act on coil spring, it deforms elastically, changing its shape.
As long as forces are equal and opposite, coil does not accelerate once it is deformed. Letter
a = shape before force application; b = shape after force application. Note lack of motion relative to
fixed reference point. C, Forces exerted by elastically deformed coil spring. Two equal and opposite
forces act on teeth.
has an active component that deforms elastically as deformed the wire (Fig. 1, C). Because the wire is
the appliance is prepared for placement (Fig. 1, B). in equilibrium when it is placed, every force pro-
When allowed to rest against the teeth, the elasti- duced is balanced by an equal and opposite force.
cally deformed portion will exert a force (or forces) The example given in Fig. 1 involved horizontal
to return to the shape it had before deformation. forces. Any vertical forces and/or forces that pro-
This is the force that moves the teeth. For simplic- duce rotation must also be balanced. The balance
ity, this article will focus on orthodontic wires as the of the forces that produce rotation is more difficult
instruments of force production. The force derived to conceptualize than the balance of horizontal or
from elastic deformation of a wire is the result of vertical forces.
the stretching of interatomic bonds without break-
ing those bonds. 7 Elastic deformation is different Forces that produce rotation
from permanent deformation where the inter- Rotational movement can be produced in two
atomic bonds are broken, so that planes of atoms ways, with a single force or with a couple. A single
move over one another and the wire does not force can produce rotation if it acts on an object,
return to its previous shape. but not through the center of resistance of that
Understanding that the appliance used for mov- object. The center of resistance is similar t o the
ing teeth is both elastically deformed and is in center of gravity of an object, but, is the more
equilibrium When it is placed allows the orthodon- pertinent point when the object to be moved is
tist to evaluate all the forces used to prepare the restrained in some way (as teeth are by the peri-
appliance for placement (Fig. 1, B). It is then odontal ligament). This center of resistance is de-
simple to understand the forces that the appliance fined by the response of the object to a force. If the
will exert on the teeth at the moment the appliance line of action of the force passes through the point
is placed (Fig. 1, C). As soon as the teeth start to that is the center of the object's resistance to force,
move, the force system from the appliance probably no rotation occurs. 2 If the force passes through any
changes? Even so, being able to identify the forces other point, the tooth will rotate as it moves. Try
that act on the teeth initially is of significant value this with your pen when it is restrained by friction
in predicting tooth movement. against a table top (Fig. 2). For single rooted teeth,
the center of resistance is approximately two fifths
Forces from an orthodontic appliance
the distance from the alveolar crest to the apex. 8
The forces from an elastically deformed wire For multirooted teeth, it is probably 1 to 2 mm
will be opposite in direction to the forces that apical to the furcation. 2 It should be noted that
396 Shellhart American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
October 1995
A a b B
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Fig. 4. A, Couples acting on orthodontic wires. If only one couple acts on wire, it does not deform
elastically; it moves to new position. Letter a = position before force application; b = position after
force application. B, Two equal and opposite couples acting on opposite ends of wire produce elastic
deformation and equilibrium. Though wire changes shape, rotational forces are balanced so that wire
is not set in motion. C, Another combination of couples that can result in elastic deformation and
equilibrium. One couple acts over short span at one end of wire. Other acts over length of wire. These
arrows are smaller representing smaller force. Magnitude of moment produced by each couple is
same, but because distance between lines of force is greater for couple that acts over length of wire
is greater, force is smaller. D, Three couples can act to produce deformation and equilibrium. In this
example, two couples that act on ends of wire are both producing clockwise rotation. Balancing
counterclockwise rotation is produced by couple acting over length of wire.
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Fig. 5. A, Two couples acting on opposite ends of wire. When straight wire is placed into two
brackets that are rotated from interbracket axis in equal amounts but opposite directions (class VI
geometry1), wire must be deformed by two equal and opposite couples that act on opposite ends of
wire. Solidline indicates initial wire shape and dashedline
indicates shape after deformation. B,
Same combination of couples described in A is needed to place wire with permanent V bend, apex
of which is centered between brackets, into two brackets that are well-aligned. C, Forces acting on
teeth from wires that have been elastically deformed as in A and B.
398 Shellhart American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
October 1995
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Fig. 6. A, Two couples, one placed at end of wire and other placed over length of wire. These
couples are needed to place straight wire into malaligned brackets with class IV geometry ~ (bracket
on left is rotated off interbracket axis half amount that bracket on right is rotated and in opposite
direction). B, Same couples described in A are needed to place wire with permanent V bend that is
located third distance from one well-aligned bracket to other. C, Force system acting on teeth from
both of these elastically deformed wires (A and B) is same.
Forces from three couples and somewhat more difficult to understand intu-
When two couples act on opposite ends of a itively, placement of a wire without permanent
wire to produce moments in opposite directions but deformation into two brackets, only one of which is
of dissimilar magnitudes, a couple can be placed rotated from the interbracket axis (class III geom-
across the length of the wire to achieve equilibrium etry 1) requires the same force system (Fig. 7, G).
(Fig. 7, A). This combination of couples is needed The system is the same, but the levels of force are
to place a straight wire into two brackets that are different than those found with a step bend. Fi-
both rotated in opposite directions from the inter- nally, placing a wire with a permanent V bend, the
bracket axis, one being rotated three-quarters the apex of which is less than a third of the distance
amount that the other is (class V geometry 1 - F i g . between two brackets, into two well-aligned brack-
7, B). This same combination of couples is required ets also requires the same force system 9 (Fig. 7, H).
to place a wire with a V bend, the apex of which is
positioned between a half and a third of the dis- APPLYING EQUILIBRIUM CLINICALLY
tance between two brackets, into two well-aligned To determine the forces that will act on the
brackets 9 (Fig. 7, C). teeth with a given appliance, first evaluate the
It is possible for two couples that act on oppo- forces that must act on the wire. Take the class III
site ends of a wire and that both produce moments geometry brackets as an example (Fig. 7, G). It is
in the same direction to be balanced by a moment obvious that a couple is needed so that the wire can
acting across the length of the wire (Fig. 7, D). This be placed into the most malaligned bracket (Fig.
occurs when a straight wire is placed into two 8, A). If that is the only couple acting on the wire,
brackets, both rotated in the same direction and in the wire will move to a different position and will
the same degree from the interbracket axis (class I not be elastically deformed. To deform the wire, a
geometry, 1 Fig. 7, E). The same set of couples is counteracting moment can be placed across the
needed to place a wire with a permanent step into length of the wire. When just these two couples act,
two well-aligned brackets 9 (Fig. 7, F). In addition, the wire will deform, but it will still not fit passively
American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics Shellhart 399
Volume 108, No. 4
Fig. 7. A, Forces from three couples can result in equilibrium. If two couples acting on opposite ends
of wire produce moments of opposite direction and dissimilar magnitude, wire can be brought to
equilibrium by couple acting over length of wire. B, Combination of couples described in A is needed
if straight wire is to be placed into brackets that are in class V geometry (bracket on left is rotated from
interbracket axis three quarters amount that bracket on right is rotated and in opposite direction). C,
Same combination of couples (A and B) is required to place wire with V bend, apex of which is
positioned between half and third of distance between two brackets, into well-aligned brackets. D,
Another combination of three couples that can result in equilibrium. Two couples that act over short
spans on ends of wire are both producing rotation of wire in same direction. They are balanced by
couple acting over length of wire that produces rotation in opposite direction. E, Force system
described in D is required for straight wire to be placed into two brackets that are both rotated in
same direction and degree from interbracket axis. F, Placing wire with step bend into two well-aligned
brackets requires same force system described in E. G, Placing straight wire into two brackets, one
of which is aligned with interbracket axis while other is not, requires essentially same force system
(though magnitude of forces may be somewhat different). H, Same force system seen in G is required
to place V bend wire, apex of which is positioned less than third of distance from one bracket to
other.
400 Shellhart ArneHcanJournalofOnhodondcs and DentofacialOnhopedics
October 1995
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Fig. 8. A, To place straight wire into brackets with class III gemoetry, it is obvious that couple needs
to act on wire to engage bracket on right. However, it only that couple acts, wire is set in motion until
forces are dissipated and wire is not elastically deformed. B, To deform the wire, original couple can
be balanced by opposing couple placed over length of wire. However, with these two couples acting,
wire will still not fit passively into bracket on left. C, Third couple must act on wire to deform wire for
placement into this arrangement of brackets. This couple acts in same direction as couple at other
end of wire. D, Forces acting on teeth are just opposite of forces that were used to deform wire.