Super-elasticity and thermal behavior of Ni-Ti alloy orthodontic arch wires.

Bending properties and thermal behavior of twenty commercial Ni-Ti alloy orthodontic arch wires were investigated quantitatively to characterize their suitability for clinical use. There was substantial difference among the load-deflection curves obtained by a three-point bending test. Some wires exhibited super-elasticity; load decreased little with decreasing deflection. Others showed good spring-back properties only; load was nearly proportional to deflection. Thermal behavior due to phase transformation of the alloy was examined by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Some of the wires did not have the correct transformation temperatures to exhibit super-elasticity at body temperature. Moreover, thermal behavior was closely related to super-elasticity. There were clear thermal peaks in the DSC curves of the super-elastic wires. However, wires without super-elasticity had no peak in the DSC curves.