Effectiveness of tubular coaxial nickel-titanium and copper nickel-titanium orthodontic aligning archwires: A randomized clinical trial

Abstract

Background

This study aimed to compare tubular coaxial-NiTi and copper-NiTi orthodontic aligning archwires in terms of teeth alignment, patients’ pain perception, and root resorption.

Subjects and methods

Orthodontic patients aged 12 years or older, having Little's irregularity index (LII) of 5–9 mm were randomly allocated to either the copper-NiTi group or tubular coaxial-NiTi group with a 1:1 allocation ratio. The archwire sequence was 0.014-inch followed by 0.018-inch for the copper-NiTi group and 0.016-inch followed by 0.018-inch for the tubular coaxial-NiTi group. Each archwire was left in place for eight weeks before progressing to the next size. Good quality impression for the lower arch before treatment (T0) and thereafter every 4 weeks up to 16 weeks was taken to measure LII. Evaluation of pain perception was performed using a visual analog scale (VAS) during the first week following each archwire insertion. Assessment of root resorption was undertaken at T0 and after 16 weeks by taking periapical radiographs for mandibular central incisors using the long cone paralleling technique.

Results

A total of 33 patients were randomized and selected for participation. Of those, 31 patients with a mean age of 15.45 ± 2.22 who completed the trial were included in the analyses (15 patients in the copper-NiTi group and 16 patients in the tubular coaxial-NiTi group). In both groups, the irregularity index significantly decreased after 16 weeks of treatment with an overall reduction of 5.22 mm for the copper-NiTi group and 6.03 mm for the tubular coaxial-NiTi group. However, the difference between the two groups was not statistically significant. Likewise, pain perception and root resorption were not significantly different between the two study groups.

Conclusions

Both copper-NiTi and tubular coaxial-NiTi archwires were equally effective in terms of teeth alignment, patients’ pain perception, and root resorption. Consideration could be given to the cost and clinician preference when selecting an initial archwire.

Registration: the trial was registered in ClinicalTrials.gov on 26/05/2022 with a registration ID: NCT05391542, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05391542.