SELF

LIGATING
BRACKETS
 SELF LIGATING BRACKETS
• Introduction

• Classification of Self Ligating Brackets

• Types of Self Ligating Brackets

• Advantages of Self Ligating Brackets

• Friction and Self Ligating Brackets

• Clinical tips Of using Self Ligating Brackets

• Conclusion
 Introduction
 Self ligating Brackets are a Ligatureless bracket
system that has a mechanical device built into the
bracket to close off the slot.
 The concept of Self ligating brackets is not new to
orthodontics.It has been existing for a surprisingly
long time in orthodontics, Russell lock edgewise
attachment being described by Dr Jacob
Stolzenberg in 1935.
 Newer designs of these brackets continue to
appear even today.This continued popularity of
self ligating brackets has attracted more than a
small percentage of bracket manufacturers,
sales and users .
 Self ligating brackets

Single interactive system Twin interactive system

Speed Bracket Activa Bracket

 Self ligating brackets

ACTIVE CLIPS PASSIVE SLIDES

 Active Clip brackets

1.        Speed – Orec – 1980 – Herbert Hanson

2.        Time - Adenta - 1994 –Wolfgang Heiser
3.        EvolutionLT – Adenta – 2002 - Wolfgang Heiser
4.        Inovation – GAC – 2000 – Micheal c Alpern
5.        Inovation – R – GAC –2002 - Micheal c Alpern
 Passive slides brackets

1.      Edgelock – Ormco – 1972 –Jim wildman

2.      Mobil lock – Forestadent – 1974 – Franz sander
3.      Activa – A company – 1986 – Erwin pletcher
4.      Damon SL – A company - 1996 - Dwight Damon
5.      Twin lock – Ormco – 1998 – Jim wild man
6.      Damon 2 - A company – 2000 - Dwight Damon
Types of
Self Ligating
Brackets
Russell Lock Edgewise
Attachment
 First Self Ligating
Bracket
Dr. Jacob Stolzenberg
Year : 1935
• Russell bracket had a flat head screw seated
snugly in a
circular,threaded opening in the face of the bracket
• Horizontal screw could be loosened or
tightened with a small watch repair screw driver
to obtain the desired tooth movement
• Loosening allows bodily translation of round
wire,whereas tightening facilitates root torquing
with rectangular wire.
Edgelok bracket
 First Passive Self Ligating
Bracket
Dr.Wild man
Year : 1972
Company : Ormco

• Edgelok bracket had a round body with a

rigid labial sliding cap.
• A special opening tool was used to move the
slide occlusally for archwire insertion.
• When the cap was closed over the archwire with
finger pressure, the bracket slot was converted to
a tube.
Mobil Lock Bracket
 Passive Self Ligating Bracket
Dr.Franz Sander
Year :1974
Company : Forestadent

• Mobil lock bracket had a rigid Semicircular labial

disk
• A Special opening Tool was required to open and
close the semicircular labial disk
• The passive outer wall transformed the bracket slot
in to a tube that loosely contained the arch wire
SPEED bracket
 Active Self ligating Bracket
Herbst Hanson
Year : 1980
Company :Orec

Components of SPEED Bracket

• Bracket body
• Spring clip
• In-out adaptor
• Mesh pad
Bracket body

• Single bracket body system

• Body design is narrow form for the Anteriors

• Body design slightly wider form for the posteriors

which features a miniaturized mushroom-shaped hook
that neatly projects from the distal-gingival of each
bracket body.
• Multislotted in design with three horizontal slots
1. Pre torqued arch wire slot
• Arch wire slot is available in either
0.018 x 0.025 inch or 0.022 x 0.028
inch to accommodate round,
rectangular,and SPEED shaped arch
2. Auxiliary
wires slot
• It is 0.016-inch square auxiliary slot
• It runs parallel to the main arch wire slot
occlusally and lingually
• Auxillary slot remains as a tube even when
spring clip is in open position
3. Spring retainer slot
• The spring retainer slot houses the recurved
tip of the spring clip.
Spring clip
a ) Roll-shaped, flexible spring clip
b ) Highly resilient spring clip opens and
closes in a vertical manner to permit arch
wire removal and insertion
c ) Shape of the clip eliminates any possibility of
accidental arch wire release through the
incorporation of a recurved tip.
In-out adaptor
a ) Adaptor features both an angular and a translational
dimension,Which ensures the creation of an
exceptionally smooth arch form.
Mesh pad
a ) Foil mesh bonding pad
 Advantages of SPEED Bracket
Size
a ) It is 30% less in size of conventional PEA
brackets. This smaller size adds ease to bond on
small and partially erupted tooth
b ) Esthetics

Auxillary slot
a ) Preformed hooks for use with elastics
b ) Segmental arch wires
c ) A ligature tie or elastomeric thread may be fed
through the slot and then tied to the arch wire
Bracket Base
It consists of sintered porous metal coating which
is an irregular microscopic stainless steel particles
fused together and to the bracket base to create
network of pores for a strong adhesive grips
which in turn increases the bond strength.

Mushroom hook
Mushroom hook permits the gingival positioning
of the elastomeric power module and hence, the
chances of frictional drag between the arch wire and
the elastomeric power module become nonexistent.
Activa bracket
 Passive Self Ligating Bracket
Erwin pletcher
Year : 1986
Company : A - Company

• Activa bracket had an inflexible, curved arm that

rotated occlusogingivally around the cylindrical bracket
body
• The arch wire is retained by a resilient clip that rotates
into a retaining groove
• Clips can be opened and closed with a wide range
of commonly used hand instruments including
ligature tuckers, flat plastics, and Mitchell's trimmers
 •Vertical slots behind the arch wire channel

Advantages of vertical slot

• T-shaped locking pins are used for Closure

of diastema with T pins and elastic chain
• Ligature connection of palatal canine to buccal
sectional wire
• Rotating spring used to overrotate a canine.
 Disadvantages of Activa Brackets
Higher bond failure rate
   Bases are slightly smaller than covventional
brackets which lead to less rigidity of the bracket base
and easier distortion of the base and consequent bond
failure under external loading forces

Less convenient with power chain

When closing the multiple spaces, elastic
chain must either be placed behind the arch
wire or T-shaped locking pins must be placed
in several brackets.
Difficulties during bracket placement
Tie-wings are useful holding points for tweezers
and their absence dictates minor changes in
bracket placement technique especially with canine
brackets

Breakage of arch wire retaining clips

Clip breakages are mainly due to the excessive
force while trying to engage a stiffer arch wire .
If a clip breaks, it is possible to replace it with a
new clip without removing and replacing the
bracket.
Time bracket
 Active Self Ligating Bracket
Wolf Gang Heiser
Year : 1994
Company : Adenta

• First one-piece self-ligating system with

CAD/CAM computer technology

• Time bracket had a rigid curved arm that wraps

occlusogingivally around t he labial aspect of
bracket body
 • Spring clip can be opened by dental probe

• The spring clip can be removed by over-opening

it or by sliding it mesially or distally.

Disadvantages of Time Brackets

• Bracket base has microetched mechanical undercuts
• With one piece bracket system,the distance between
slot and base is increased which inturn reduced the
inout values.This is more marked in lower incisor
with reduction of prominence by 1/3
TwinLock bracket
 Passive self ligating Bracket
Jim Wildman
Year : 1998
Company : ormco

• Twin lock Bracket had flat, rectangular slide,

housed between the tie wings of an edgewise twin
bracket.
• Passive slide is moved occlusally into the slot open
position with a universal scaler
• Passive slide is moved gingivally with finger pressure
to entrap the archwire in a passive configuration.
Damon SL I bracket
 Passive self ligating bracket
Dwight Damon
Year –1996
Company -
A company

• Damon I had a Flat rectangular slide houses outside

face of bracket,which straddled along the tie wings
• A tiny U – shapedwire spring lays under the slide to
provide positive open and shut position
 • Slides opening in both maxillary and mandibular
brackets in inferior direction enables to view full
aspect of the slot

Disadvantage of DamonSL I Bracket

• Inadvertent opening of the slide
• Loss of Slide
a ) Breakage of slide due to work hardening
of slide corner
b ) Excessive opening will cause the slide to pass
beyond the stop provided by the underlying
U – shaped wire.
Damon 2 bracket
 Passive self ligating bracket
Dwight Damon
Year : 2000
Company : A company

• Bracket manufactured with metal injection moulding

• Slides can be opened and closed with conventional

light wire plier.
• Slide can be opened inferiorly in both arches in order
to give an unobstrcuted view of the slot
GAC IN - OVATION
BRACKET
 First twin bracket with active clip
Micheal C Alpern
Year : 2002Horizontal V slot
Company :GAC

• Bracket manufactured with metal injection moulding

• V – Tool(Tweezer ) is used for opening the clip
• Active clip which is made from cobalt chromium
alloy is highly resistant to fracture
Slot Blocker :
• Prevents archwire from escaping from the bracket
• Torque Expression
Horizontal slot
• This slot runs through the occlusal wings
Super mesh base
• This houses a wide mesh over a tighter mesh

Disadvantages
• Gingival end of the spring clip is difficult to
open especially in the lower arch
Philippe
Self Ligating
Lingual Bracket
 Philippe Self ligating Bracket
Aldo Macchi
Year : 2002
Company : Ormco

• These brackets can be bonded directly to

the lingual surface of the tooth

• Bracket wings are opened with Haideman spatula

• Brackets are closed with a Weingart utility plier

Advantages
• Post-treatment retention
• Limited intrusion
• Closure of minor spaces.
• Correction of mild crowding
• Alternative to conventional lingual brackets
in cases that do not require 3rd - order tooth
movements

Disadvantages
• These brackets does not have slots
Oyster
Self Ligating
Bracket
 First Translucent Self Ligating Bracket
Year : 2003
Company : Oyster/GAC

• Strong,Fiberglass reinforced composite polymer

• Cap can be removed and place back again
• Mushroom hook for elastic attachment

Disadvantage
• Poor Dimensional Stability
• Staining nature
Advantages of
Self Ligating
Brackets
 1. Archflow
   

Archflow describes both flow mechanics of the

self ligating bracket along the archwire and the
distal drift of the archwire
• Sliding or walking back
• Water-wheel effect
2. Acculock
The precision arm accurately locks the archwire
within the dimensions of the slot in an “all or
nothing Pattern

a) Robust Ligation
b) Controlled tooth movement
3. Autoseat
Active self ligating brackets : Automatic seating
of either a round or a rectangular archwire in the base
of the slot is responsible for the rotation and Torque
control from early of the treatment.

Passive self ligating brackets : Passive interaction

is almost strictly a one-way force interchange . The
archwire presses against the straight precision arm,
which then reacts to the archwire force Rotation
control is efficiently achieved only by using larger
rectangular archwires.
4. Arch Flexibility

a) The low friction of the resilient and flexible

stainless steel precision arms reduces inter
bracket archwire deflections , resulting in freer,

biocompatible three-dimensional tooth movements.

b) The narrowest arm and the smallest bracket body,

provide additional archwire flexibility.
5. Anchorage Conservation
a) The low friction of interactive brackets allows the
application of consistent, light forces for efficient
flow mechanics during retraction. This, in turn,
reduces posterior anchorage loss
b) Lower net force deflect archwire less and
facilitate release of binding forces between the
archwire and bracket,enhancing sliding of bracket
along the archwire.
6. Asepsis
a) The four tie-wing undercuts are left open
for the self-cleansing effects of salivary fluids.

b) The precision arm is integrated into the bracket

body, thus contributing to the prevention of enamel
discoloration and gingival inflammation.
7.Comfortable for the patient
a) In 1990,Rolf Maijer showed that patients bonded with
self ligating brackets invariably reported that the
brackets were smoother and wings did not seem to
stick into the cheeks and lips,which reduces the risk of
skin perforation and possible infection
b ) Cosmetics
c ) Hygiene
8.Adaptation

The Flexible archwire is not bound by ligatures

so the vertical elastics over the open tie wings
will work with the low - friction, to provide
excellent dental adaptation and ideal occlusal
interdigitation
9.Patient Acceptance
a) Frequency of visit
The ability to ensure full and secure
engagement of modern,low modulus wires
make the interval between appointments even
up to 10 weeks.
b) Duration of visit
In 1990, Maijer and Smith showed that
the
conventional edgewise brackets took 21 minutes
for arch wire adjustment and change but self
ligating brackets {Activa} took around only 14
minutes for edgewise-trained operator.
• In 1990,Smith showed that anterior self-ligating
brackets were four times as fast in removing and
placing archwires than the other operator with
edgewise brackets

• In 1994 Shivapuja and Berger showed that 12

minutes added time for both archwire removal and
placement in conventional method compared to self
ligating system.{speed}

• In 1996,Harridine showed the self-ligating brackets

frees an additional seven minutes of the

appointment for positive reinforcement of proper oral
hygiene, discussion of progress, or simply
10. Friction
Friction is defined as a force that retards or resists
the relative motion of two objects in contact, and its
direction is tangential to the common boundary of the
two surfaces in contact.

Static friction is the force needed to start

movement.
kinetic friction is the force needed to maintain
movement once started
•In orthodontic sliding mechanics, friction is determined
by the type of archwire, the type of bracket and the
method of ligation.

•In active Self-ligating system, friction is produced as a

result of the clip pressing against the archwire. These
brackets have greater torque control without unduly
increasing the friction

In the passive self-ligating system, there is no actual

contact of the clip with the archwire, The full bracket
expression is achieved only when higher dimensional
wires are used.
Clinical tips in using self
Ligating Brackets
• Aids in full archwire engagement with self
ligating bracket
• Opening and closing Clips / Slides
• Prevention of wire pokes
• Changing Treatment Mechanics
• In cases where anchorage control is needed one can
use passive and when anchorage control is less
demanding, an active appliance can be used.
• Active brackets are preferred in cases which require
more tip and torque correction and thus aids in in a
better finishing and detailing.
• Additional torque should be added to the arch
wire in passive self-ligating bracket, or larger
dimension arch wire should be used,or expanded
archform or design of the bracket should be changed
with additional tip and torque values.
Conclusion
Self Ligating brackets thus offer valuable
combinations of extremely low friction, secure full
bracket engagement and reduction in duration of
archwire ligation .These development offer the
possibility of a significant reduction in average
treatment time and also in anchorage requirements,
particularly in cases requiring large tooth
movements.
Whilst further refinements are desirable
and further studies are essential,current brackets are
able to deliver measurable benefit with good
robustness and easy to use.