ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Finite element analysis of slot wall

deformation in stainless steel and
titanium orthodontic brackets during
simulated palatal root torque
Varadaraju Magesh,a Pandurangan Harikrishnan,b and Devadhas Kingsly Jeba Singha
Kattankulathur, Kancheepuram, and Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Introduction: Torque applied on anterior teeth is vital for root positioning and stability. The aim of this study was
to evaluate the detailed slot wall deformation in stainless steel (SS) and titanium (Ti) edgewise brackets during
palatal root torque using finite element analysis. Methods: A finite element model was developed from a maxil-
lary central incisor SS bracket (0.022 in). The generated torque values from an SS rectangular archwire
(0.019 3 0.025 in) while twisting from 5
to 40
were obtained experimentally by a spine tester, and the calculated
torque force was applied in the bracket slot. The deformations of the slot walls in both SS and Ti brackets were
measured at various locations. Results: There were gradual increases in the deformations of both bracket slot
walls from the bottom to top locations. In the SS bracket slot for the 40
twist, the deformations were 9.28, 36.8,
and 44.8 mm in the bottom, middle, and top slot wall locations, respectively. Similarly, in the Ti bracket slot for the
40
twist, the deformations were 39.2, 62.4, and 76.2 mm in the bottom, middle, and top slot wall locations,
respectively. The elastic limits were reached at 28
for SS and at 37
for Ti. Conclusions: Both SS and Ti
bracket slots underwent deformation during torque application. There are variations in the deformations at
different locations in the slot walls and between the materials. (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop
2018;153:481-8)

O
rthodontic brackets transfer the forces from the
archwire to the teeth to enable tooth movement.
Final root positioning of the teeth is vital for
long-term stability, function, and esthetics and is usually
done by torquing. Incisor torque is necessary for proper
interincisal angle and overjet, and optimal posterior
tooth occlusion. To achieve these, palatal root move-
ment of the maxillary anterior teeth is commonly carried
out in the finishing rectangular archwires by torquing
the necessary archwire segments. Clinically, torque is
the moment generated by a twisted orthodontic
a
Bio-Mechanics Laboratory, School of Mechanical Engineering, SRM University,
Kattankulathur, Kancheepuram,Tamil Nadu, India.
b
Division of Orthodontics, Teeth “N” Jaws Center, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.
All authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Po-
tential Conflicts of Interest, and none were reported.
Partly funded by DST-FIST, government of India (reference number SR/FST/ETI
311/2012).
Address correspondence to: Pandurangan Harikrishnan, Teeth “N” Jaws Center,
23 and 25, 1st Cross Street, Lake Area, Nungambakkam, Chennai 600034, Tamil
Nadu, India; e-mail, teethnjaws@rediffmail.com.
Submitted, March 2017; revised and accepted, August 2017.
0889-5406/$36.00
Ó 2017 by the American Association of Orthodontists. All rights reserved.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajodo.2017.08.011
archwire inside the bracket slot. During this force trans-
fer mechanism, because of the archwire contact on the
slot walls, there might be deformation of the bracket
slot. The clinically required torque is determined accord-
ing to tooth inclination, slot-wire play, and bracket ma-
terial. Gioka and Eliades1 proposed that a high-torque
prescription should be selected to account for the lack
of full expression of the prescribed torque that occurs
clinically. McKnight et al2 suggested that full thickness
stainless steel (SS) rectangular wires should be avoided
with SS brackets, to prevent larger deformation of the
brackets by overloading. Many factors affect the pre-
scribed torque, and as the main torquing force is trans-
ferred to the bracket slot walls from the torqued
archwire, we believe that the direct deformation of the
bracket slot might be an important parameter in torque
dissipation.
There were many experimental studies available to
predict the behavior of conventional, preadjusted, and
self-ligated orthodontic brackets of metallic, ceramic,
and polycarbonate materials for applied torque.3-7 Few
experimental studies on elastic and plastic deformation
of orthodontic bracket tie wings using the digital
481
482
image correlation technique are available.8-12 Major
et al13 studied the deformation and warping of bracket
slots in self-ligating brackets to an applied torque. These
experiments need extensive instrumentation, are time-
consuming, and are challenging to do the microscale
measurements.
Clinicians like to have the visual display of deforma-
tion in the bracket slot. The finite element (FE) method is
an approximation technique used to model the physics
of complex problems.14 FE studies were recommended
to quantify and evaluate the effects of torsional forces
applied to achieve tooth movement.15-19 Huang et al20
studied the torque angle/torque moment capabilities
of conventional and self-ligated brackets using the FE
method but did not investigate deformation of the
bracket slot. Because the torquing forces are exerted in-
side the bracket slot, it is necessary to study the deforma-
tion inside the slot—ie, in the slot wall regions. Detailed
bracket slot wall deformation by FE analysis due to tor-
que is not available in the literature. So, we planned to
study the bracket slot wall deformation at different loca-
tions during torque. To our knowledge, this is the first
study wherein the applied torque forces in the bracket
slot were calculated from the archwire-generated tor-
que. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the
torque-relevant deformation at different locations of
SS and titanium (Ti) bracket slot walls in an FE model.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
A conventional edgewise maxillary right central incisor
SS bracket (Ormco, Glendora, Calif) with a 0.022 3 0.028-
in slot was used in this study. The profile points of the SS
bracket were captured using optical profile projector (ph
3515F; Mitutoyo, Takatsu-ku, Kawasaki, Kanagawa,
Japan) under 10-times magnification. The obtained pro-
file points of the bracket were imported to a drafting
package (AutoCAD 2016; Autodesk, San Rafael, Calif),
and its dimensions were measured. A 3-dimensional
bracket model was constructed with the measured dimen-
sions using modeling software (CATIA, version 5; Dassault
Systemes, Velizy-Villacoublay, France). This study was de-
signed to evaluate the torque deformation at different lo-
cations of SS and Ti bracket slot walls in an FE model. The
FE model was generated with software (HyperMesh,
version 13.0; Altair Engineering, Troy, Mich).
The bracket model was meshed with 472556 isopara-
metric 4-noded tetrahedral solid elements with 118045
nodes (Fig 1). We used a tetrahedral element which is
similar to the hexahedral element in precision and time
of use of the central processing unit.21 The meshed
model was imported to FE analysis software (R14.5;
Ansys, Canonsburg, Pa). The material properties were
April 2018  Vol 153  Issue 4 American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Magesh, Harikrishnan, and Kingsly Jeba Singh
Fig 1. FE model of SS orthodontic edgewise bracket.
Table I. Mechanical properties of SS and Ti brackets
Tangent
Young's Poisson's Yield modulus
Material modulus (MPa) ratio strength (MPa) (MPa)
SS 200000 0.30 241 2000
Ti 114000 0.31 795 1140
considered to be homogenous and isotropic as shown
in Table I.22-24
The bilinear isotropic hardening model was used in
this analysis. In a bilinear isotropic hardening model,
bilinear denotes that the stress-strain curve requires 2
inputs such as the yield strength and the tangent
modulus of the material. Isotropic hardening means
that the yield surface expands uniformly in all directions
including the plasticity. Tangent modulus quantifies the
“softening” or “hardening” of a material that occurs
when it begins to yield. In this study, the tangent
modulus was calculated from Young's modulus for
both SS and Ti.
An 8-mm length of 0.019 3 0.025-in SS wire was
used, since this is the archwire length clinically engaged
in a central incisor bracket mesiodistally. The wire
segment was fixed in a customized jig attached to the
jaws of the spine tester (370.72; MTS Systems, Eden
Prairie, Minn). The wire segment was twisted from 5

to 40
in increments of 5
to reflect the clinical situation,
and the generated torque (T) values were recorded from
the spine tester. Figure 2 shows the spine tester machine
and the customized jig used for archwire torquing. The
archwire contact points in the gingival and incisal slot
walls during torquing from 5
to 40
twists were identi-
fied graphically by rotating the archwire inside the
bracket slot (Fig 3) using a drafting package (AutoCAD
2016). These contact points were used to calculate the
couple distance (D) for each angle of twist (distance be-
tween the 2 contact points of archwires inside the
bracket slot). The applied torque force (F) in the bracket
slot was calculated using the formula T 5 F 3 D.25 The
generated torque, couple distance, and applied torque
Magesh, Harikrishnan, and Kingsly Jeba Singh 483

Table II. Generated torque, couple distance, and

applied torque force values for angles of twist from
5
to 40

Generated
Angle torque Couple Applied torque force
of twist (
) (Nmm) distance (mm) (N)
5 4 0.56 7.14
10 6 0.48 12.5
15 7.5 0.40 18.7
20 11.5 0.32 35.93
25 17 0.26 65.38
30 22 0.22 100
35 28 0.14 200
40 28.5 0.10 285

degrees of freedom. In the constructed FE model, the

Fig 2. Multiaxial spine tester. inset, customized jig with
the rectangular archwire.
Fig 3. Diagram of torqued archwire contact points on the
slot wall. D is the couple distance, and F is the applied tor-
que force contact points.
forces obtained for the angles of twist from 0
to 40

with 5
intervals are presented in Table II.
When a torqued archwire is inserted in the bracket
slot, the archwire is in contact with the bracket slot walls
at certain locations. In our study, the couple was applied
in a palatal root torque fashion in the SS bracket slot.
The same bracket profile was used for the Ti bracket
analysis. In the boundary conditions of the FE model,
all nodes in the base of the bracket were arrested in all
nodal points at the top, middle, and bottom locations
in the slot wall were identified. After the torque applica-
tion, the deformations of the identified nodal points
were measured in micrometers with the Ansys R14.5
software. The nodal deformations were measured at
the top, middle, and bottom locations (0.71, 0.355,
and 0.05 mm, respectively, from the slot base) in both
the mesial (mesiogingival and mesioincisal) and distal
(distogingival and distoincisal) slot walls of the bracket
model as shown in Figure 4. Figure 5 shows the bound-
ary and loading conditions during torque.
RESULTS
The deformation in both SS and Ti bracket slot walls
at angles of twist from 5
to 40
in increments of 5
were
recorded as shown in Table III.
In the SS bracket slot, the deformations for 5
to 40

ranged from 0.3 to 44.8 mm in the top location and from
0.1 to 36.8 mm in the middle location. In the bottom
location, there was no deformation up to a 12
twist,
and from 15
to 40
twists, the deformation ranged
from 0.06 to 9.28 mm. The SS bracket reached its elastic
limit at a twist of 28
and the corresponding deforma-
tions at the top, middle, and bottom locations were
4.3, 3.1, and 0.5 mm, respectively. Further angles of twist
up to 40
showed plastic deformations of 0.0405 mm
(40.5 mm) for SS. Figure 6 shows the SS bracket slot
wall deformation at a twist of 30
.
In the Ti bracket slot, the deformation for 5
to 40

ranged from 0.7 to 76.2 mm in the top location and
from 0.3 to 62.4 mm in the middle location. In the
bottom location, there was no deformation up to a
9
twist, and from 10
to 40
twists, the deformation
ranged from 0.1 to 39.2 mm. The Ti bracket reached its
elastic limit at a twist of 37
, and the corresponding
deformations at the top, middle, and bottom
locations were 71, 56, and 38 mm, respectively. A further

American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics April 2018  Vol 153  Issue 4
484 Magesh, Harikrishnan, and Kingsly Jeba Singh

Table III. SS and Ti bracket slot deformations at the

top, middle, and bottom of the slot for applied angles
of twist
Bracket slot deformation (mm)

SS Ti
Angle of
twist (
) Top Middle Bottom Top Middle Bottom
5 0.3 0.1 0 0.7 0.3 0
10 0.6 0.4 0 1.2 0.7 0.1
Fig 4. Meshed bracket model showing the top, middle, 15 0.9 0.6 0.06 1.8 1.1 0.2
and bottom locations for the measurement of deforma- 20 2.0 1.3 0.1 3.6 2.2 0.4
tion. 25 3.7 2.4 0.3 6.7 4.4 0.8
30 5.6 3.8 0.7 10.2 7.1 1.3
35 13.4 9.3 4.6 32.3 26.5 8.4
40 44.8 36.8 9.28 76.2 62.4 39.2

increased applied torque forces. As the applied torque

Fig 5. FE model showing the boundary and loading con-
ditions during torque. MG, Mesiogingival; MI, mesioin-
cisal; DG, distogingival; DI, distoincisal.
angle of twist up to 40
showed plastic deformation for
Ti at 0.005 mm (5 mm). Figure 7 shows the Ti bracket slot
wall deformation at a twist of 30
.
There were gradual increases in the deformation of
the bracket slot walls from the bottom to the top loca-
tion in both materials. Figure 8 shows the comparison
of deformations of both SS and Ti brackets' top, middle,
and bottom slot locations.
DISCUSSION
Torquing in orthodontics is commonly done for
incisor root positioning by twisting the required segment
of the rectangular archwire. Such forces have a tendency
to deform the slot wall apart from moving the tooth. So, it
is of clinical relevance to study the slot deformation in the
brackets. We evaluated the bracket slot wall deforma-
tions in clinically relevant angles of twist from 5
to
40
. The required clinical torque could be achieved in a
0.022-in bracket slot with archwire torsion of 15
to
35
for self-ligating brackets with a 0.019 3 0.025-in
SS wire.3 As the angle of twist increases, there was a
decrease in the length of couple distance leading to
forces increased, there was a gradual increase in the
deformation of both SS and Ti bracket slot walls from
the bottom to the top locations as shown in Table III.
In the SS bracket slot, for a 40
twist, the deformations
were 9.28, 36.8, and 44.8 mm in the bottom, middle,
and top slot wall locations, respectively. Similarly, in
the Ti bracket slot for the 40
twist, the deformations
were 39.2, 62.4, and 76.2 mm in the bottom, middle,
and top slot wall locations, respectively. Major et al,13
in an experimental study, reported that the deformations
of the top slot at a 63
twist were 7.0 to 70 mm in SS self-
ligating brackets. Closer to their results, our study also
showed that the deformations in the top slot at a 40

twist were 44.8 and 76.2 mm for SS and Ti, respectively.
Both bracket materials showed maximum deformations
at the mesial and distal gingival top edges of the slot walls
(Figs 6 and 7). This was expected as the forces applied for
palatal root torque usually are translated more to the
gingival walls. This produces more deformation of the
gingival slot wall than the incisal slot wall at the top
locations. So, the warping of the slot walls is not
uniform during torque application compared with
uniform warping as shown by Major et al. Harikrishnan
et al26 reported a gradual increase in slot deformation
from the bottom to the top locations and more in the
gingival slot walls in both SS and ceramic brackets.
In the bottom location of the slot, there was no defor-
mation in the SS up to the 12
twist and up to the 9
twist
in the Ti (Table III). This is because the bottom position of
the slot wall is closer to the base of the bracket that is fixed
and thus resists the contact forces significantly. When a
ductile material experiences stress beyond the elastic limit
(yield strength), it acquires a permanent deformation,
which indicates the beginning of plastic deformation.
Our results showed that the Ti bracket reached the elastic
limit at a 37
(28 Nmm) twist, and the deformation at the

April 2018  Vol 153  Issue 4 American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Magesh, Harikrishnan, and Kingsly Jeba Singh 485

Fig 6. Deformed FE model of SS bracket for 30
angle of twist showing more deformation in the
gingival slot wall than in the incisal slot wall. MG, Mesiogingival; MI, mesioincisal; DG, distogingival;
DI, distoincisal.

Fig 7. Deformed FE model of Ti bracket for 30
angle of twist showing more deformation in the gingival slot
wall than in the incisal slot wall. MG, Mesiogingival; MI, mesioincisal; DG, distogingival; DI, distoincisal.

top slot was 0.071 mm (71 mm). Kapur et al27 reported
that Ti brackets reached the elastic limit at a 45
twist.
In our study, the elastic limit of the SS bracket was
reached at a twist of 28
(21 Nmm), and the deformation
noted at the top slot wall was 0.0043 mm (4.3 mm). Major
et al12 reported that the SS self-ligating bracket plasti-
cally deformed when torqued to 24
at 26 Nmm; this is
closer to our findings.
Our results showed that the elastic deformation of
the Ti bracket slot is more than that of the SS bracket

American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics April 2018  Vol 153  Issue 4
486
Fig 8. Comparison of slot locations deformation in SS and Ti brackets for 5
to 40
angles of twist.
Fig 9. Cantilever beam principle simulating archwire con-
tact force on the slot wall (P), showing the deformed slot
wall (dotted line) for an angle of twist of 30
. a, Distance
from the base to the force application point; L, cantilever
beam length.
slot. The deformation of the material is based on its
Young's modulus. The higher the Young's modulus,
the stiffer the material and the harder it is to stretch;
when Young's modulus is lower, the material will deform
more. Since Ti has a lower Young's modulus than SS, the
Ti bracket's elastic deformation was greater than that of
the SS bracket (Fig 8). In our analysis, the yield strength
inputs were 241 and 795 MPa for SS and Ti, respectively,
April 2018  Vol 153  Issue 4 American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
Magesh, Harikrishnan, and Kingsly Jeba Singh
as shown in Table II. During the analysis, we obtained
Von Mises stress values that were closer to the input yield
strengths of 28
for SS and 37
for Ti. Thus, the starting
points of plastic deformation were reported to be 28

and 37
for SS and Ti, respectively. The analysis was car-
ried out up to a 40
twist. So, it was reported from 28
to
40
angles of twist that the plastic deformation of SS
brackets was 0.0405 mm (40.5 mm); from 37
to 40
an-
gles of twist, 0.005 mm (5 mm) was noted for Ti brackets.
Melenka et al28 experimentally showed that by un-
loading from 51
of twist, the total plastic deformation
measured for SS brackets was 0.038 mm compared with
0.013 mm for Ti bracket. Ti brackets plastically deformed
less than did the SS brackets after torquing, this is similar
to our results.
Clinically, during torque application, there is tooth
movement and thus dissipation of the applied force. It
is difficult to assess the amount of time-related torque
force in the bracket slot with the relevant tooth move-
ment. It was not possible to incorporate this factor in
our FE analysis; thus, it is a limitation of this study.
The strength of our study was that we studied in detail
the deformational changes in the slot, where there is
direct contact of the torqued wire to the slot wall rather
than the tie wings that are not in contact with the arch-
wire as shown in other studies.9,11,12
Torque loss during treatment is due to many factors
such as wire slot play, ligation methods, and bracket ma-
terial. Clinically, the torque force from the archwire acts
directly on the slot wall creating deformation of the slot.
Our study clearly demonstrates the presence of torque-
relevant slot wall deformation in an FE model. Deforma-
tion in the slot wall will be either elastic or plastic ac-
cording to the applied torque. Since torquing is carried
Magesh, Harikrishnan, and Kingsly Jeba Singh
Table IV. FE analysis vs analytical comparison for 30

twist showing maximum deformation of gingival wall
of the slot
FE analysis (dmax) Analytical (dmax)
Material (mm) (mm)
SS 0.0055 0.0054
Ti 0.0099 0.0101
dmax, Maximum deformation.
out a few times during the treatment period, there might
be more slot deformation than shown in our study. Our
study provides significant information to clinicians that
there is torque-relevant slot wall deformation in widely
used SS and Ti brackets. This study implies that clinicians
should be aware of these factors when applying torque
and plan to compensate accordingly to achieve the clin-
ically required torque.
In this study, the FE analysis deformation results were
validated using the analytical method. Only the gingival
wall of the slot was considered for validation purpose
and as a cantilever beam. The bottom portion was fixed,
and force was applied at the top location for a 30
angle
of twist (Fig 9). Half of the couple force was applied as a
point load.28 The maximum deflection (dmax) was ob-
tained using the following formula.29
Pa2
dmax 5 ð3L  aÞ (1)
6EI
where E is Young's modulus of bracket material, P is the
applied force, L is the length of a cantilever beam, I is the
moment of inertia of the gingival wall cross section, and
a is the distance from the base to the force application
point. The maximum deformation obtained for a 30

twist by the FE analysis for the gingival wall was vali-
dated with an analytic calculation as presented
in Table IV. These analytic results were closer to the FE
results obtained.
CONCLUSIONS
In this study, FE analysis of torque-relevant slot wall
deformation in commonly used SS and Ti brackets was
done. The following conclusions were reached.
1. There is a gradual increase in the deformation of SS
and Ti bracket slot walls from bottom to top locations.
2. The elastic deformation of the Ti bracket slot was
more than that of the SS bracket slot.
3. The plastic deformation of the SS bracket was more
than that of the Ti bracket.
4. Clinicians should be aware of this torque-relevant
bracket slot wall deformation during fixed appliance
therapy to achieve ideal tooth positions.
American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics
487
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