International Journal of Dental Sciences

Authors
Bhavya B, Sreejith Kumar, Babukuttan Pillai, Mahitha Mohan, Sujith B, Subu R

Abstract
Friction produced during sliding mechanics tends interfere with orthodontic tooth movement and compromise the treatment result. Various ligation materials and techniques have been introduced to reduce the friction at the bracket-archwire interface. One of the new ligature materials introduced is super slick ligatures. The present study was done to assess the effectiveness on the rate of space closure between polymer coated super slick ligatures and stainless-steel ligatures during en masse retraction in maxillary dentoalveolar protrusion. Methods: Twenty patients were selected and randomly divided into two groups of ten each. During en masse retraction of maxillary anteriors, the archwire was ligated with super slick ligatures in group 1 and stainless-steel ligatures in group 2. The rate of space closure was measured from study models taken at monthly intervals for six months. Results: The mean rate of retraction of maxillary anterior teeth was higher with stainless steel ligatures. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups (p > 0.05). Conclusion: The polymer coated super slick ligatures and stainless-steel ligatures showed no statistically significant difference in en masse retraction of anteriors of maxillary arch. The super slick ligatures can be considered as suitable alternative to stainless steel ligatures during space closure.