Guiding a tooth along an arch wire results in a counteracting frictional force. Clinically, a mesiodistally applied force must exceed the frictional force to produce a tooth movement. A friction-testing assembly simulating three-dimensional tooth rotations was constructed to study factors affecting friction magnitude. Five wire alloys (standard stainless steel, Hi-T stainless steel, Elgiloy blue, nitinol, and TMA) in five wire sizes (0.016, 0.016 x 0.022, 0.017 x 0.025, 0.018, and 0.018 x 0.025 inch) were examined with respect to three bracket widths (2.2, 3.3, and 4.2 mm) at four levels of retarding force (0, 1, 2, and 3 N). The following factors affected friction in decreasing order: retarding force (biologic resistance), surface roughness of wire, wire size (vertical dimension), bracket width, and elastic properties of wire. The study recommends the application of 0.016 x 0.022 inch stainless steel wire combined with a medium (3.3 mm) or wide (4.2 mm) bracket for an arch-guided mechanism with an 0.018 inch slot. The effective force of this arrangement has to increase twofold to overcome the friction. For TMA wire, however, the effective force must increase sixfold, resulting in a hazardous overload of the anchorage units.