engleski

Mechanical testing of orthodontic archwires

Mechanical properties of orthodontic archwires are studied in this work in the micrometric domain. Measurements are performed on nickel- titanium archwires without and with different coatings as well as subjected for four weeks to an artificial saliva solution with different pH values (4.8 and 6.6). Since surface properties can have a meaningful influence on friction, corrosion or plaque accumulation, surface texture of the wires is measured by employing atomic force microscopy. On the other hand, with the aim of determining Young’s modulus and the hardness, nanoindentation tests are performed for different peak load values. It is hence established that there is no statistically relevant deterioration of the surfaces after their exposure to saliva. Rh coating leads, in turn, to an increase of surface roughness. Young’s moduli and hardness values tend to increase with increasing indentation depths, while they are not meaningfully affected by the coating or the corrosion in saliva.

Nickel-titanium archwires ; coating and corrosion ; AFM and nanoindentation testing ; surface roughness ; hardness ; Young’s modulus

Izrađeno i financirano u sklopu projekta “Imunosne i regenerativne implikacije korozije dentalnih materijala u djece i adolescenata” Hrvatske zaklade za znanost (IP-2014-09-7500) voditelja Stjepana Špalja