The effect of artificial saliva on the frictional forces between orthodontic brackets and archwires.

The effect of artificial saliva on the static and kinetic frictional forces of stainless steel (Dentaurum) and polycrystalline ceramic (Transcend) brackets in combination with 0.018-inch round and 0.019 x 0.025-inch Edgewise archwire sizes and stainless steel, nickel-titanium and beta-titanium archwire materials, under a constant ligature force were investigated. In all cases, artificial saliva had the effect of increasing the frictional force when compared with the dry state.