Aim: The need to be able to use a material with esthetic characteristics of ceramic and mechanical properties of the metallic brackets has led clinical and industrial research towards the realization of zirconium brackets. These brackets seem to respond to both the requirements of new esthetic concepts and of interesting biomechanical qualities: hardness, resistance to abrasion, resistance to compression, reduced coefficient of friction during mechanical sliding, stability in a humid temperature and to the aggression of oral fluids.
Methods: Twenty samples of zirconium brackets have been observed at SEM realized using the metal injection molding (MIM) technology: 10 new ones used as base samples and 10 used samples with the purpose of assessing the morphologic aspect and the structural variations after clinical use.
Results: The comparison the samples showed some structural changes regarding the surface of the body of the brackets, while slot and wings maintain an interesting stability of construction, a moderate degree of abrasion even after the application of considerable clinical strength.
Conclusions: The conclusion is drawn that the positive clinical response in the use of these brackets and the limited scientific literature on the use of zirconium in orthodontics is worthy of further research.