Is nickel titanium superior to multistranded stainless steel wire in aligning crowded lower anteriors? A comparative in-vivo study

Introduction: One of the most perplexing phenomenons in orthodontics is the crowding of anterior teeth, which brings the patient to the orthodontist seeking remedy because of its aesthetic and functional consequences. The present study was aimed to clinically evaluate and compare the efficiency of NiTi and multistranded stainless steel wire during initial levelling and aligning of crowded lower anteriors. Material and methods: 30 subjects aged between 14 -20 were chosen for the study and divided in to two groups. All the subjects were fully explained about nature, purpose and treatment. Both groups were bonded with 0.022” MBT prescription brackets. After bonding, for Group A patients 0.016” NiTi arch wire was placed and secured with elastomeric modules, similarly for Group B patients 0.0155”multistranded (SS) wire was placed and secured .Time period needed for decrowding of each group was calculated. Result: Average number of days taken by nickel titanium wire in de-crowding mandibular anteriors is 89.67 days while multistranded SS wire took 113.2 days to de-crowd. Even though multistranded wire has low stiffness, because of its shape memory and super elasticity, nickel titanium wire is clinically efficient in decrowding severely crowded lower anteriors. To conclude, a marginal advantage of NiTi wire exists in accordance to the time period taken to decrowd mandibular anteriors.