Understanding the Effects of Sterilisation Methods on Orthodontic Archwires Properties: A Review Sterilisation is the removal of all microorganisms, vegetative or spore-forming, from an article, surface or medium that can be accomplished through steam autoclaving, dry heat and cold solution following strict guidelines for efficient archwire sterilisation. Orthodontic archwire sterilisation is a concern because patients are often exposed to contaminated dental products. Thus, new and used arch wires will not show significant differences in terms of properties while in usage. This article presents a review of the sterilisation methods effects on the characteristics and properties of several types of orthodontic archwires including stainless steel (SS), nickel-titanium (NiTi), copper NiTi, beta titanium (β-Ti), heat-activated NiTi and titanium molybdenum (TiMb). Available records in “all databases” of Web of Science, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Scopus and Elsevier were searched, and other studies were manually searched using keywords, retrieved and compiled. Studies related to sterilisation of orthodontic archwires such as archwire type, sterilisation method, characterisation techniques and mechanical properties were summarised based on articles published from 1st July 2015 to 29th February 2024, and it is shown that the characteristics of orthodontic archwires may be affected by sterilisation techniques. Heat sterilisation can change the load-deflection properties of some wires, while the chemical composition and surface structures of archwires are unchanged. After sterilisation, the number of nickel ions released from the archwires does not increase significantly. The findings support the idea that archwire sterilisation procedures are an effective infection control treatment and facilitate the mechanical characterisation of orthodontic archwires.

ABSTRACT Root resorption is a shortening of root dentine which occurs physiologically in deciduous teeth. The present study aimed to quantify dentine sialophosphoprotein (DSPP), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) during the physiological process of root resorption of deciduous teeth. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 25 children aged between 4 and 10 years old. GCF was collected from the gingival sulcus using periopaper strips from the upper first deciduous molar (n = 45). The samples were divided equally into three groups, no resorption (R0), moderate resorption (RM) and severe resorption (RS), based on the existing radiographs taken. The GCF samples were then analysed using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit to determine the DSPP concentration levels and BioAssays System kit for AST and LDH. One-way ANOVA was used to determine the statistical differences between the means of the DSPP, AST and LDH concentration level in the three groups. A difference was considered significant when p < 0.05. High concentration levels of DSPP were significantly noted in RS (p < 0.05), compared to RM and R0. AST also portrayed significant high activity level (p < 0.05) similar to DSPP but LDH showed no significant changes between groups (p > 0.05). The high quantification of DSPP and AST levels in the severe and moderately resorbed roots indicated the potential use of this protein as a biomarker for detecting moderate-severe stages of root resorption.
Root Resorption ; Gingival Crevicular Fluid ; Dentin ; Aspartate Aminotransferases ; Lactate Dehydrogenases

Introduction: Coated archwires improve aesthetics during orthodontic treatment. However, little is known regarding their clinical benefit. This randomised controlled trial (RCT) compared the tooth alignment (TA), coating loss (CL), colour change (∆E*), and patient perception of coated archwires with their controls. Details of ∆E* and perception were reported in the second part of the articles. Methods: This RCT was done at three centres. Participants were randomised to receive one of four treatment interventions using 0.014” superelastic coated nickel-titanium archwires from Orthocare, RMO, G&H, and conventional uncoated 3M Unitek® archwires. These archwires were ligated during bonding and collected after eighth week and questionnaires were distributed to participants in the experimental groups only. After removal, TA and CL were measured using Little’s Irregularity Index and Autodesk® AutoCAD® software, respectively. At the time of this preliminary reporting, 84 participants had completed the trial. Two archwires fractured and were excluded. Therefore, 166 archwires (n = 166) were analysed. Results: Only non-extraction cases showed statistically significant differences in TA change between all groups (p = 0.005) and RMO showed significantly lowest mean of TA (1.5 mm). RMO and Orthocare showed significant TA change in the upper and lower arches (p = 0.037, 0.048). CL was found to be insignificant for both extraction and non-extraction cases (p >0.05). Comparison between upper and lower arches revealed no significant difference in TA and CL in all groups (p >0.05). Conclusion: From this preliminary analysis, Orthocare provides better TA in non-extraction cases despite highest percentage of coating loss.

Lasers have been identified as one of the preventive tools that can be utilised to prevent white spot lesion in orthodontic practice. The aim of this scoping review was to evaluate the current scientific literature on the use of lasers specifically to prevent white spot lesion in orthodontic cases. Search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus and EBSCO databases from the past ten years. The records obtained were peruse considering specific inclusion and exclusion criteria. From the total of 1123 studies that were evaluated, 68 papers were included for this review. A variety of laser types has been reported including Er;YAG, Er,Cr:YSGG, Argon and CO2 lasers. CO2 laser has a good number of evidence of it’s positive result and can be suggested to be use in clinical practise. However, since most data for the other type of lasers were derived from in vitro studies, they must be interpreted with care. Randomised clinical trials would be beneficial to give more meaningful evidence for clinicians to adopt lasers in their practice.

Panoramic radiograph is a routine investigation tool in orthodontic diagnosis and treatment planning however the limitation of two-dimensional image in assessing the position of impacted canine and surrounding tissues had cause unnecessary treatment options and complications during treatment. This report highlights the differences in investigation outcome and orthodontic treatment planning of two similar cases of patients with impacted upper canine, in which one only had panoramic radiograph and another case supplemented with Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT). The case supported only by panoramic radiograph had changes in treatment planning during canine removal surgery as prevention from oro-antral fistula. This event could have been prevented if CBCT was taken where the canine can be assessed for proximity towards maxillary sinus. It is recommended for CBCT in orthodontic assessment for canine impaction especially for cases where canine is positioned higher than root apex of adjacent teeth and when root resorption is suspected.