Application of niobium in orthodontics

Metal orthodontic archwires have their basic mechanical property requirements, such as adequate resilience, low stiffness, good formability, and good biocompatibility and environmental stability. Commonly used materials for metal orthodontic archwires are stainless steel, drilled chromium alloys, nickel-titanium alloys, and titanium-molybdenum alloys. The use of niobium in orthodontic bow wires is less well documented, and it has been shown that niobium is mainly used as a component of B-titanium alloy bow wires in order to improve the mechanical properties of the bow wires and to reduce the modulus of elasticity. Niobium-containing titanium alloy bow wires have well-balanced mechanical properties, such as moderate resilience, balanced stiffness, good formability, and the ability to be welded to attachments.Suzuki et al. compared the differences in mechanical properties between Ti-Nb-Al alloy bow wires and conventional Ni-Ti alloy bow wires, and showed that the initial resilience of Ti-Nb-Al alloy bow wires was half of that of Ni-Ti alloy bow wires, which indicates that the initial resilience of the alloy bow wires is only half of that of the alloy bow wires, and that this is a significant difference in mechanical properties. The results show that the initial rebound force of the Ti-Nb-Al alloy bow wire is only half of that of the Ni-Ti alloy bow wire, which indicates that the former can exert a more moderate and durable rebound force. In addition, Ti-Nb-Al alloy wires have been shown to result in smoother and more continuous tooth movement, and Kuroda et al. have demonstrated that Ti-Nb-Al alloy wires are less torquey than titanium-molybdenum alloy and conventional Ni-Ti alloy wires.

With the continuous development of material science, the materials used for orthodontic archwires are constantly updated, and many non-metallic materials for archwires have been developed and applied in the clinic. Clinically, different materials and models of archwires should be selected according to the types of dental irregularities and individualized orthodontic treatment plans.