Orthodontic springs on removable appliances today are almost universally made of 18/8

stainless steel or nickel/chrome wire. Before the introduction of stainless steel wires for
orthodontic purposes, platinized gold wires were used but this material had rather a small elastic
limit so that the range of action of the springs made from it was fairly short. Stainless steel is
more elastic and this makes possible the construction of springs with an adequately long range
of action.

The degree of flexibility and the amount of pressure exerted are determined by the length and
thickness of wire that is used, whether part of the length is formed into coils or not. The finer
gauges of wire appear more flexible and the thicker gauges less flexible. The length of a spring
that can be used in an orthodontic appliance is restricted by the dimensions of the dental arch
and the limits imposed by the size of the oral cavity.
Geometry: Size and Shape
Changes related to size and shape are independent of the material. In other words, decreasing
the diameter of a steel wire by 50%would reduce its strength to a specific percentage of what it
had been previously.
When a round wire is used as a finger spring, doubling the diameter of the wire increases its
strength eight times (i.e., the larger wire can resist eight times as much force before
permanently deforming or can deliver eight times as much force). Doubling the diameter,
however, decreases springiness by a factor of 16 and decreases range by a factor of two.
More generally, for a round cantilever wire, the strength of the wire changes as the third power
of the ratio of the larger to the smaller wire; springiness changes as the fourth power of the ratio
of the smaller to the larger; and range changes directly as the ratio of the smaller to the larger
(Figure 9-12).

FIGURE 9-12 Changing the diameter (d) of a wire, no matter how it is supported, greatly affects its
properties. As the figures below the drawing indicate, doubling the diameter of a cantilever wire makes it
8 times as strong, but it is then only as springy and has half the range. More generally, when wires
of any type made from two sizes of wire are compared, strength changes as a cubic function of the ratio
of the two cross-sections; springiness changes as the fourth power of the ratios; range changes as a direct
proportion (but the precise ratios are different from those for cantilever wires).

Geometry: Length and Attachment
Changing the length of a wire, whatever its size or the material from which it is made, also
dramatically affects its properties (Figure 9-13). If the length of a cantilever wire is doubled, its
bending strength is cut in half, but its springiness increases eight times and its range four times.
More generally, when the length of a cantilever wire increases, its strength decreases
proportionately, while its springiness increases as the cubic function of the ratio of the length
and its range increases as the square of the ratio of the length.
Changing from a cantilever to a supported wire, though it complicates the mathematics, does
not affect the big picture: as wire length increases, there are proportional decreases in strength
but exponential increases in springiness and range.
FIGURE 9-13 Changing either the length of a wire or the way in which it is attached dramatically affects its
properties. Doubling the length of a cantilever wire cuts its strength in half but makes it 8 times as springy and
gives it 4 times the range. More generally, strength varies inversely with length, whereas springiness varies as
a cubic function of the length ratios and range as a second power function. Supporting a wire on both ends
makes it much stronger but also much less springy than supporting it on only one end. Note that if a wire is
rigidly attached on both ends, it is twice as strong but only one-fourth as springy as a wire of the same
material and length that can slide over the abutments. For this reason, the elastic properties of an orthodontic
archwire are affected by whether it is tied tightly or held loosely in a bracket.



A removable appliance incorporating a cantilever spring for initial tipping of a maxillary canine toward a
premolar extraction site. Note that a helix has been bent into the base of the cantilever spring, effectively
increasing its length to obtain more desirable mechanical properties.


As a guide to the amount of pressure that springs made from round stainless steel wire exert.
Table 2.1 lists the results of measurement of the deflection produced by a 20-g pressure on a
number of springs that are routinely used in removable orthodontic appliances.
Fig. 2.2 shows the use of gauges to measure spring pressure.


fig 2-2
Fig. 2.2. The use of pressure gauges. A, A plunger type of gauge calibrated in ounces. At the opposite end there is a hook which makes it possible to measure elastic
tensions. B, Measuring the pressure of a cantilever spring. C, The Correx pressure gauge calibrated in grammes. D, Measuring the pressure of an apron spring.


The design and placement of a spring determine the direction in which it will apply its force.
Three principles are important with all types of spring:
1. The force should be delivered at right angles to the long axis of the tooth.
When this principle is met all the force applied to the tooth is used to achieve movement. When
it is not met a vertical component of force is produced which will tend to displace the spring.
Examples of such displacement may be seen during retraction of a canine with a poorly
positioned buccal spring or when a labial bow is activated palatally on proclined incisors.


2. as far as possible the force should be applied through a surface which is parallel to the long
axis of the tooth.
Failure to comply with this will not only cause displacement of the spring but can sometimes
produce unwanted intrusion of the tooth. The displacement may be corrected by altering the
direction of spring activation so that it is more nearly at right angles to the surface to which it is
applied, but this will increase the tendency to intrude the tooth and will produce an increased
displacing force on the appliance. An example of this may be seen when an attempt is made to
retract a partially erupted canine by activating the spring on the sloping mesial surface of the
cusp. It also occurs when an incisor is proclined by spring activation on the sloping surface of
the cingulum.



3. The force should pass through the centre of resistance of the tooth (approximately the centre
of the tooth viewed in cross-section).
When this does not occur there will be a tendency for the tooth to rotate. This may frequently be
seen when buccally placed canines are retracted by means of finger springs. Buccal springs are
preferable in this respect but a closer examination of any cases where rotation has occurred
during canine retraction commonly reveals that a slight rotation was present initially.

In practice the requirements of a spring for an orthodontic appliance are that the spring should
deliver an amount of pressure that is appropriate to the number and size of the teeth to be
moved, and that the action of the spring should take place over an adequate distance. These
objects are achieved by using a metal wire which has a high degree of elasticity and by selecting
an appropriate combination of length and thickness to achieve the optimum degrees of pressure
and range of action in the spring. Within the elastic limit of the material, a spring may be
deflected by a pressure P at the free end over a distance D (Fig. 1.2). If the length of the spring
is L and the thickness T, then for a round wire the deflection of the spring is directly
proportional to the pressure exerted on it; to the third power of the length and inversely
proportional to the fourth power of the thickness. The relationship is summarized by the
formula D (PL3/T4 ) (Fig. 1.2, D). For any given spring, to double the pressure on it would
double the deflection produced at the free end (Fig. 1.2, A), to double the length would increase
the deflection eight times for the same pressure (Fig. 1.2, B), and to halve the thickness would
increase the deflection sixteen times for the same pressure (Fig. 1.2, C).


In order to have maximum flexibility a palatal cantilever spring needs to be as long as
possible, however, the dimensions of the oral cavity determine the maximum length of spring. It
is usual to incorporate a coil, of about 3 mm internal diameter, in order to increase the effective
length of the wire. Whenever possible the coil should be designed so that it 'unwinds' as the
tooth moves, because the elastic recovery will be better than that of a spring loaded in the
opposite direction. Springs are not normally made in wire diameter of less than 0.5 mm, as the
patient would readily distort thinner wire and they are not generally recommended. To give a
spring a degree of stability while still retaining flexibility, 0.5 mm wire can be sheathed with
stainless steel tubing having an internal diameter of 0.5 mm. The tubing is then incorporated
into the acrylic of the appliance. Such supported springs are used for canine retraction and
overjet reduction (Figure 3.6).
Unsupported buccal springs (Figure 3.7) and bows have to be made from 0.7 mm wire to
provide sufficient strength. Unsupported buccal springs are often rather stiff. Such springs must
not be activated by much more than 1 mm, if excessive force is to be avoided. Because the force
decays rapidly as the tooth moves, the spring may not remain active throughout the period
between visits. This means that continuous tooth movement is difficult to maintain.


Mechanics of springs

Most orthodontic springs are variants of the simple cantilever. For a round wire, the force
generated by a small deflection within its elastic limit depends on the deflection, the
crosssectional area of the wire and the length: F = d*c/l
The cross-sectional area of the wire is especially significant. Doubling the wire diameter
increases the force 16 times and even using a wire of 0.7 mm rather than 0.5 mm diameter
doubles the force for a given deflection. The ideal spring would have an almost flat
load/deflection curve so that the force applied remained almost constant as the tooth moved. For
ease of management by the patient the spring should have a reasonably small deflection and
should be resistant to displacement and distortion. These criteria cannot all be satisfied
simultaneously.




Force

For a single-rooted tooth, a spring should deliver a force in the range of 25-40 g (the lower
forces being indicated for teeth with short roots, such as lateral incisors).Very light forces may
lie below the threshold for a reasonable rate of tooth movement. Excessive forces delay tooth
movement, overload anchorage (Figure 3.2) and may cause discomfort to the patient. In most
situations, a spring activation of about 3 mm is satisfactory (Figure 3.3). If the spring is given
greater activation the patient is more likely to insert it incorrectly. With a smaller deflection the
force applied will decrease rapidly as the tooth moves so that intermittent movement will have
to be accepted unless the spring is activated more frequently.
The expected rate of tooth movement is between 1 and 2 mm a month, which means that
monthly adjustments are sufficient if an activation of 3 mm is used. The force delivered by
palatal springs of 0.5 mm wire increases by about 15 g for each millimetre of deflection, so that
an activation of about one-third of a tooth width (3 mm) will deliver a force of about 45 g. If the
tooth moves 1 mm in a month, the residual force will be about 30 g, which is still sufficient to
produce tooth movement. Spring stability is also important - the ideal spring should be flexible
in the direction of its action but be stiff in other directions, so that it does not readily become
displaced.


Figure 3.2 The effects of different force values
during canine retraction, (a) The correct force
produces maximum canine movement and minimum
movement of the other teeth, (b) An excessive force
may give reduced canine movement and will result
in undesirable movement of the other teeth in the
arch. An increase in overjet is a sign of this.



Figure 3.3 Maximum activation of a 0.5 mm palatal
canine retraction spring.
A simple cantilever is equally flexible in all directions and has a stability ratio of 1. This can be
improved by support from the baseplate. Some buccal springs have a stability ratio of
appreciably less than 1 which means that the spring is less flexible in a mesio-distal direction
than it is vertically. This makes them awkward for the operator to adjust and for the patient to
manage (Figure 3.4).

Figure 3.4 Stability ratio of buccal canine springs, (a) The standard buccal canine spring is more flexible vertically than it is mesio-distally. (b) Supported buccal canine
retractor has the advantage that it is more flexible mesio-distally than vertically.