Effect of Fluoride Content of Mouthwashes on Superelastic Properties of NiTi Orthodontic Archwires

Francisco Pastor; Juan Carlos Rodríguez; José María Barrera; José Angel Delgado García-Menocal; Aritza Brizuela; Andreu Puigdollers; Eduardo Espinar; Javier Gil

doi:10.3390/ma15196592

Effect of Fluoride Content of Mouthwashes on Superelastic Properties of NiTi Orthodontic Archwires

Materials (Basel). 2022 Sep 22;15(19):6592. doi: 10.3390/ma15196592.

Authors

Francisco Pastor¹, Juan Carlos Rodríguez¹, José María Barrera¹, José Angel Delgado García-Menocal², Aritza Brizuela³, Andreu Puigdollers⁴, Eduardo Espinar¹, Javier Gil²

Affiliations

¹ Departamento Ortodoncia, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad de Sevilla, Avicena s/n, 41009 Sevilla, Spain.
² Bioengineering Institute of Technology, Facultad de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Internacional de Catalunya, Josep Trueta s/n, Sant Cugat del Vallés, 08195 Barcelona, Spain.
³ Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Europea Miguel de Cervantes, C/del Padre Julio Chevalier 2, 47012 Valladolid, Spain.
⁴ Departamento Ortodoncia, Facultad de Odontología, Universidad Internacional de Catalunya, Josep Trueta s/n, Sant Cugat del Vallés, 08195 Barcelona, Spain.

Abstract

The influence of sodium fluoride (NaF) concentration in mouthwashes on the properties of superelastic NiTi orthodontic wires has been studied. In this work, 55.8%Ni and 44.2%Ti (in weight) wires were introduced in commercial mouthwashes with different NaF contents (0, 130, 200 and 380 ppm). The release of Ni²⁺ and Ti⁴⁺ ions was by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) at 1, 4, 7 and 14 days. Superelastic orthodontic wires present at oral temperature the austenitic phase which is transformed into a plastic phase (martensite) by cooling. The temperatures at which this occurs are influenced by the chemical composition. The release of ions from the wire will produce variations in the temperatures and stresses of the stress-induced martensitic transformation. M_s, M_f, A_s, A_f were determined by Differential Scanning Calorimeter (DSC). The transformation stresses (austenite to stress induce martensite) were determined with a servo-hydraulic testing machine at 37 °C. The surfaces for the different times and mouthwash were observed by Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM). The release of Ni²⁺ in mouthwashes with 380 ppm NaF concentrations reaches 230,000 ppb in 14 days and for Ti⁴⁺ 175,000 ppb. When NaF concentrations are lower than 200 ppm the release of Ni and Ti ions is around 1500 ppb after 14 days. This variation in compositions leads to variations in M_s from 27 °C to 43.5 °C in the case of higher NaF concentration. The increasing immersion time and NaF concentrations produce a decrease of Ni in the wires, increasing M_s which exceed 37 °C with the loss of superelasticity. In the same way, the stresses (tooth position corrective) decrease from 270 MPa to 0 MPa due to the martensitic phase. The degradation can produce the growth of precipitates rich in Ti (Ti₂Ni). These results are of great interest in the orthodontic clinic in order to avoid the loss of the therapeutic properties of superelastic NiTi due to long immersion in fluoride mouthwashes.

Keywords: NiTi; fluorides; orthodontic archwires; superelasticity; transformation temperatures.

Grants and funding

The work was supported by the Spanish Government and the Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain by research projects RTI2018-098075-B-C21 and RTI2018-098075-B-C22 (co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). A way to build Europe).