Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences (2018) 34, 202e206

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Review Article

A novel b-titanium alloy orthodontic wire

Hong-Po Chang a,b,*, Yu-Chuan Tseng a,c

a
School of Dentistry and Graduate Program of Dental Sciences, College of Dental Medicine,
Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
b
Department of Dentistry (Orthodontics), Kaohsiung Municipal Hsiao-Kang Hospital,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
c
Department of Orthodontics, Dental Clinics, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital,
Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan

Received 2 October 2017; accepted 12 January 2018

Available online 13 February 2018

KEYWORDS Abstract This literature review investigated a recently developed orthodontic wire
Orthodontic wire; composed of a b-titanium alloy known as “Gum Metal” and compared its properties with those
Gum Metal; of conventional wires. The attractive properties of Gum Metal include an ultra-low Young’s
Beta titanium; modulus, non-linear elastic behavior, ultra-high strength, high yield strain, high ductility,
Low modulus; and superplastic deformability without work hardening at room temperature. The unique
High strength multifunctional characteristics of this new orthodontic wire make it almost ideal for orthodon-
tic applications. The results of this literature review indicate the strong potential use of Gum
Metal wire for improving and enhancing the effectiveness of orthodontic treatment.
Copyright ª 2018, Kaohsiung Medical University. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. This is an
open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
by-nc-nd/4.0/).

Introduction Many of the materials and technologies currently used in

orthodontic practice would have been difficult to imagine
The emergence of the dental materials science in ortho- during the lifetime of Edward Angle [1].
dontic field coincided with the first orthodontic applica- Now that materials science has progressed to a recog-
tions of gold and steel wire alloys by Edward Hartley Angle nized specialty in the dental field, courses in the me-
(1855e1930), who is the father of modern orthodontics. chanical properties of various materials have been
integrated in postgraduate orthodontic curricula. This
review compares the properties of various dental mate-
rials, particularly those of new b-titanium orthodontic
Conflicts of interest: All authors declare no conflicts of wires. Due to limited space, the biomechanical properties
interests. and orthodontic applications of these materials will not be
* Corresponding author. School of Dentistry, Kaohsiung Medical discussed.
University, 100 Shih-Chuan 1st Road, Kaohsiung, 80708, Taiwan.
E-mail address: [email protected] (H.-P. Chang).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.kjms.2018.01.010
1607-551X/Copyright ª 2018, Kaohsiung Medical University. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC. This is an open access article under the CC
BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
A novel b-titanium alloy orthodontic wire 203

Precious metal alloys, stainless steel, and In 1986, ‘‘superelastic’’ NiTi alloys were developed by
cobalt-chromium alloys researchers in China [16] and in Japan [17]. Both Chinese
NiTi and Japanese NiTi were active austenitic alloys that
form stress-induced martensite [15]. Neo Sentalloy, which
At the time when Angle and Tweed published their land-
is a true active martensitic alloy, was introduced in the
mark study in the first half of the 20th century, only gold-
early 1990s. The SME in Neo Sentalloy is pseudoelastic
nickel alloy wires had sufficient elasticity and corrosion
during forming and thermoelastic during recovery [18]. In
resistance for orthodontic applications. Precious metal al-
1994, three copper NiTi products are introduced, which
loys such as gold-nickel were used because gold itself is too
have chromium in them as well, and display the SME at
soft for most dental applications. However, precious metal
27  C, 35  C, or 40  C [19,20].
alloy wires such as gold-nickel eventually became obsolete
Orthodontic archwires composed of NiTi are now widely
due to their prohibitive expense and the introduction of
used because their low load-to-deflection ratio provides a
stainless steel wires. Stainless steel wires are highly resis-
desirable force level and good control of force magnitude
tant to rust due to their relatively high chromium content.
[21]. The use of NiTi wires has greatly simplified the initial
For example, a typical stainless steel wire is composed of
phase of orthodontic treatment due to their superelastic
18% chromium and 8% nickel (thus, the steel used in this
properties and constant low forces over a wide range of
wire is referred to as 18-8 stainless steel) [2,3]. Because of
activation. However, the low deformability of such
its high corrosion resistance, excellent work-hardening
superelastic wires limits their use in the second or third
properties, and low coefficient of friction, stainless steel
phase of an orthodontic treatment [22].
became the standard material for orthodontic applications
[4e6]. By the 1960s, the use of gold alloy orthodontic wires
was widely abandoned in favor of stainless steel wires [7,8]. b-Titanium
Cobalt-chromium alloys emerged in the 1960s [9]. The
first cobalt-chromium wires (Elgiloy) were developed in the Titanium-molybdenum alloy (TMA, Ormco/Sybron, Orange,
United States by the Rocky Mountain Co. (Denver, CO) [8]. CA, USA) is a b-titanium alloy introduced in the early 1980s
Like stainless steels, they have a high stiffness; however, for orthodontic applications. Its combination of high
cobalt-chromium alloys are also heat treatable and are strength and springiness makes it an excellent choice for
available in four different tempers [8,10]. Different tem- auxiliary springs and finishing archwires, especially rect-
pers are needed to introduce various loops, V-bends, and angular wires used in late stages of edgewise orthodontic
offsets in an archwire. One advantage of using Elgiloy for treatment. Since it lacks the formability and stiffness of
orthodontic applications is its low hardness. After being cobalt-chromium wire, however, TMA is unsuitable for ap-
shaped, Elgiloy can be hardened by heat treatment, which plications that require a flexible wire. Another drawback of
substantially increases its strength. After heat treatment, TMA wires is their high surface roughness, which produces
the softest Elgiloy acquires a hardness equivalent to that of high friction between the archwire and bracket [23].
stainless steel whereas the harder Elgiloy acquires a hard- However, ion-implanted TMA wires that have substantially
ness equivalent to that of “super” steels. reduced archwire-bracket friction [24] (low-friction TMA)
For orthodontic applications, precious metals have been are now available from Ormco/Sybron.
replaced by stainless steels and Elgiloy, which have a Development of new b-titanium alloys and other tita-
considerably higher strength and springiness, a comparable nium alloys has rapidly increased in recent years, partly
corrosion resistance, and a lower cost. The unique prop- because of the high biocompatibility of these nickel-free
erties of Elgiloy and stainless steel have made them the wires.
standard materials for orthodontic wires in the past 70
years.
Development of Gum Metal

Nickel-titanium alloys A b-titanium alloy known as Gum Metal was developed in

2003 at the Metallurgy Research Section of Toyota Central R &
Due to its biocompatibility and other beneficial properties, D Labs., Inc., Japan. This multi-functional titanium alloy has a
titanium is now used in pure or alloy form in many areas of b-type body-centered cubic (BCC) crystal structure. Gum
dentistry. For example, titanium alloys are increasingly Metal is an alloy of titanium (Ti), niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta),
used to fabricate orthodontic wires, denture cast bases, zirconium (Zr), all of which are in groups IVa and Va in the
dental implants and other dental appliances. periodic table of elements. The chemical composition of Gum
At the Naval Ordnance Laboratory in 1962, Buehler Metal (Ti-36Nb-2Ta-3Zr-0.3O; wt.%) was chosen based func-
developed an alloy known as Nitinol (i.e., nickel-titanium, tional density theory [25e30]. The “super” properties of Gum
Naval Ordnance Laboratory) [11,12]. The first practical use Metal under intensive cold working include an ultra-low
of this material was in the antenna of a space satellite. Young’s modulus with non-linear elastic behavior, ultra-high
Nickel-titanium (NiTi) orthodontic wires (50% nickel and strength, high yield strain, high ductility, and superplastic
50% titanium) were first used by Andreasen and colleagues deformability at room temperature [25e35]. Its remarkable
in the early 1970s [13,14]. The Unitek Corporation (now 3M characteristics are obtained by the juxtaposition of three
Unitek, Monrovia, CA, USA) obtained a patent license for electronic magic numbers: (1) its compositional average
Nitinol in 1974 and now offers a stabilized martensitic form valence electron number [electron/atom (e/a) ratio] is
of Nitinol that is not subject to the shape-memory effect approximately 4.24; (2) its bond order (Bo value), which in-
(SME) [15]. dicates bonding strength, is approximately 2.87 according to
204 H.-P. Chang, Y.-C. Tseng

the DV-Xa cluster method; (3) its “d” electron-orbital energy The Gum Metal characteristics that make it suitable for
level (Md value), which indicates electronegativity, is orthodontic applications can be summarized as follows
approximately 2.45 eV [25e35]. Gum Metal was designed to [39,40,50]:
achieve all three electronic magic numbers simultaneously.
Addition of oxygen and good cold working performance pro- 1. High flexibility and super-elasticity.
duces a marble-like microstructure that gives Gum Metal a 2. Easier to bend and easier to handle compared to other
plastic-deformed structure without a dislocation motion of titanium alloy wires such as CoCr (Elgiloy) wires.
the crystal. The oxygen in Gum Metal is the most important 3. High springback but without hysteresis. Enables easy
alloying element in terms of obtaining its outstanding me- control of orthodontic force.
chanical properties and unique deformation behavior 4. Free of nickel and heavy metals (non-toxic).
[36e38]. 5. Not susceptible to work hardening. Intraoral breakage
Four companies have collaborated in the development rarely occurs.
of Gum Metal for orthodontic therapy: the Metallurgy 6. Low coefficient of friction. Suitable for sliding me-
Research Section of Toyota Central R & D Labs., Inc.; chanics of orthodontic tooth movement.
Toyotsu Material Inc.; Maruem Works Co., Ltd.; and Rocky
Mountain Morita Corporation. Professor Shin Hasegawa of
Kanagawa Dental University, Japan, has provided consul-
Clinical applications of Gum Metal wire
tation for this 6-year collaborative effort. Gum Metal now
provides orthodontists with a practical, economical, and
Until now, no orthodontic wire has exhibited all of the ideal
effective aid to orthodontic therapy. The super-low Young’s
characteristics. Orthodontists have used different wire
modulus of Gum Metal enables true 3-dimensional control
types for different purposes and requirements of treat-
of teeth and the fabrication of orthodontic appliances that
ment. Because of its low Young’s modulus, the force pro-
provide a near-optimal distribution of force for stable and
duced when Gum Metal is deformed is small even with
gentle movement of teeth [39,40].
rectangular wire. The elastic deformation characteristics of
Gum Metal make is suitable for treating early stages of
Gum Metal orthodontic wire crowding. Because it does not follow the Hooke’s law, Gum
Metal produces low orthodontic force even when displace-
The characteristics of Gum Metal wire can be summarized ment is high. These characteristics of Gum Metal substan-
as follows: tially increase the potential applications of rectangular
wire [39,40,50].
Since rectangular Gum Metal wire provides more torque
1. A Young’s modulus approximating 40 GPa (i.e., super-low
for moving teeth at an early stage and a dramatically
elastic modulus) and a tensile strength of approximately
shorter duration of leveling compared to conventional
1000 MPa (i.e., super-high strength). Compared to NiTi,
wires. A rectangular wire may also be easier to use for
Gum Metal is more flexible, and its Young’s modulus is
active application of torque compared to the conventional
approximately 85 GPa [33,38e40].
combination of NiTi rectangular wire and stainless steel
2. Gum Metal is super-elastic and has a ductility approxi-
wire. Therefore, 3-dimensional control is possible at all
mately 10 times (2.5%) greater than that of conventional
stages of active treatment except the very earliest stage.
metals [33,38e40].
Thus, the use of Gum Metal wire reduces not only the
3. Unlike NiTi, super-elastic deformation in Gum Metal is
overall duration of orthodontic treatment, but also the
true elastic deformation without hysteresis (i.e.,
number of orthodontist visits needed for wire changes
without energy loss between loading and unloading in
[39,40,50].
the stressestrain relation). Its nonlinear elastic proper-
ties are not subject to the Hook’s law [38e40].
4. Work-hardening does not occur during the forming pro- Summary
cess. Its super-elastic properties enable cold deforma-
tion up to 99.9% or higher without compensation (super- The unique characteristics of Gum Metal wire make it
plastic deformation) [38e40]. Gum Metal does not almost ideal for orthodontic applications. The super elasto-
deform via a dislocation-free plastic deformation plastic properties of Gum Metal archwires enables sub-
mechanism [41e43]. Proposed mechanisms of anoma- stantially faster and easier initial leveling and alignment.
lous deformation behavior in multifunctional Gum Metal Because of their ultra-low elastic modulus and deform-
include reversible nanodisturbance [44], deformation ability, rectangular Gum Metal wires are also applicable at
twinning [45], reversible stress-induced martensitic when 3-dimensional (torque) control of tooth movement is
transformation [46], and spatially confined martensitic needed in very early stages of orthodontic procedures.
transformation from a BCC crystal structure to a” Finally, its super-elasticity and non-linear elastic defor-
(orthorhombic) and d phases [47,48]. mation behavior maximize the activation range of wires
5. All constituent atomic elements of the alloy are without excessive force. For orthodontic patients, the use
biocompatible and non-toxic [49]. of Gum Metal wire reduces the pain and discomfort of or-
6. Compared to other titanium wires, a Gum Metal wire thodontic treatment by reducing the number of required
generates approximately half the friction between the wire changes and the duration of treatment. Gum Metal
archwire and bracket with an appropriately treated wire has strong potential applications for improving and
surface [39,40]. enhancing the effectiveness of orthodontic treatment.
A novel b-titanium alloy orthodontic wire 205

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