Surface ultrastructure and mechanical properties of three different white-coated NiTi archwires.

The recent trend in orthodontic treatment is to apply esthetic materials to orthodontic appliances with adequate clinical performance. The aim of this study was to investigate the ultrastructure (surface roughness) and mechanical properties (load-deflection curve) of three as-received, white-coated superelastic nickel-titanium (NiTi) archwires using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and modified three-point bending test assessments, respectively. Three representative esthetic NiTi archwires were used, silver-platinum- and polymer-coated NiTi Natural Dany (Dany group), epoxy resin-coated Orthoforce Ultraesthetic™ (Ultra group), and Teflon®-coated Perfect (Perfect group).