Color Stability of Different Aesthetic Arch Wires in Beverages Consumed During the COVID-19 Era: An In Vitro Study

Introduction One of the prime reasons for patients seeking orthodontic treatment is improvement in their aesthetics or appearance. With a greater number of adult patients now opting for orthodontic treatment, the demand for aesthetic orthodontic materials has increased. With the background of the recent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the popular role of strongly pigmented beverages that play an immunity-boosting role, studies exploring the effect of such beverages on orthodontic appliances may improve the decision-making process of selecting such aesthetic appliances. Materials and methods Four brands of wires and six beverages were included in this study. The wires were Teflon-, epoxy-, or ceramic-coated. Convenience sampling was done, and five samples of each brand were prepared to be tested in each solution. Samples were tested under a spectrophotometer after immersing them in various solutions for two, four, and eight weeks. A comparison of aesthetic degradation due to color changes amongst four brands of archwires was done by applying the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. P values were calculated for all samples to determine whether the color change that occurred in the samples was statistically significant or not. Results Overall results showed that none of the archwires resisted color change after being immersed in staining solutions after two, four, and eight weeks, respectively, which was found to be statistically significant.  Conclusion At the end of all time intervals, none of the archwires resisted a color change irrespective of the brand or coating of archwires. This result was found to be statistically significant. With respect to the solutions, all solutions from Chyavanprash, tea, coffee, vitamin C, turmeric milk, and AYUSH kadha displayed a staining effect on all the aesthetic archwires.

Comparative Evaluation of Biomechanical Performance of Titanium and Stainless Steel Mini Implants at Different Angulations in Maxilla: A Finite Element Analysis

Objective: To assess and compare the tensions and deformations (stresses and strains) generated after application of two types of forces (traction and torsion) in miniscrews of two different materials (titanium and stainless steel) placed at five different angulations.

Materials and Methods: Three-dimensional models of the posterior maxillary area and the mini-implants were constructed using computer-aided design software program (CATIA P3 V5-6 R2015 B26 / 2016; Dassault Systèmes). Titanium and stainless steel materials were used for miniscrews. The area constructed was in between the maxillary second premolar and first molar. The models with mini-implants were inserted at five different angulations (30°, 45°, 60°, 75° and 90°). Torsional and tractional forces were applied on these implants, and the models were solved using ANSYS 10.0. Stress generated in implant and in the cortical and cancellous bones was evaluated and compared at all the five angulations.

Results: Stress generated in stainless steel mini-implant during torsional and linear force application was less when compared with titanium mini-implant. Also, stress generated in implants of both materials increased as the angle increased from 30° to 90°. Difference in stress generated by stainless steel implant in the cortical bone for both linear and torsional forces was less when compared with titanium implant, whereas for cancellous bone, the difference was insignificant at all the angles.

Conclusion: Irrespective of angles, difference in stress generated in stainless steel implants and titanium implants for both the forces was not significant, and hence, stainless steel implants can be used effectively in a clinical setting.