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STATIC EQUILIBRIUM IN ORTHODONTICS

3. Static equilibrium in orthodontics

A useful method for predicting the type of tooth movement that will occur with the

appliance activation is to determine the “equivalent force system” at tooth’s center of

resistance. Orthodontic tooth movement follows certain principles of classical or

Newtonian mechanics that need to be understood to carry out a particular type of

tooth movement. It has already been mentioned that the moment of a force with

respect to the centre of resistance depends upon the perpendicular distance of its

line of action to the centre of resistance, and therefore otherwise identical forces

placed at different positions on the tooth have different effects on tooth movement. In

order to determine how a tooth will move, it is useful to evaluate the force system at

the bracket to determine the equivalent force system at the centre of resistance 13.

According Derange14 to three requirements of static equilibrium is established when,

1. The sum of all vertical forces must equal zero

2. The sum of all horizontal forces must equal zero

3. The sum of moments acting around any point must also equal zero.

Orthodontic system ultimately comes to state of static equilibrium from a dynamic

state resulting in zero forces and moments across the system.

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STATIC EQUILIBRIUM IN ORTHODONTICS

The laws of equilibrium require not only that for every force there is an equal and

opposite reactive force, but also that the sum of the moments around any arbitrary

point is equal to zero. In other words, the moments, as well as the forces, generated

by an orthodontic appliance system must be balanced, in all three planes of space

Placing bends in a wire at strategic locations between two or more brackets is one

way of using these laws to move teeth in a predictable fashion. This is often done

during the finishing stages of treatment. The other method is to offset the brackets in

relation to each other to create the same forces and moments. This is what happens

during the initial stages of treatment when teeth are not aligned and a straight wire is

put in the brackets to align them. Bends placed on a wire between two attachments

or brackets or a straight wire linking maligned brackets or attachments essentially

create two kinds of force systems depending on how the wire is engaged in the

brackets.

• One-couple force system (Statically determinate)

• Two-couple force system (Statically indeterminate)

Force systems can be defined as statically determinate, meaning that the moments

and forces can readily be discerned, measured, and evaluated. Statically

indeterminate systems are too complex for precisely calculating all forces and

moments involved in the equilibrium. Typically, only the direction of net moments and

approximate net force levels can be determined. Determinate force systems

therefore are particularly advantageous in orthodontics when control of force

magnitudes is necessary to produce the desired biologic response.

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STATIC EQUILIBRIUM IN ORTHODONTICS

For all practical purposes, determinate systems in orthodontics are those in which a

couple is created at one end of an attachment, with only a force (no couple) at the

other (i.e., a one-couple system). This means that a wire that will serve as a spring

can be inserted into a tube or bracket at one end but must be tied so that there is

only one point of contact on the other inserted into a tube or bracket at one end but

must be tied so that there is only one point of contact on the other. When the wire is

tied into a bracket on both ends, a statically indeterminate two-couple system has

been created15.

Couple Systems in Orthodontics

Biologically Statically

Determinate Indeterminate Determinate Indeterminate

-One Couple -Two Couple


Multi Couple One Couple
-Two Couple -Multi Couple

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STATIC EQUILIBRIUM IN ORTHODONTICS

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