Morphological evaluation of the active tip of six types of orthodontic mini-implants

Flávia Mitiko Fernandes KITAHARA-CÉIA, Tatiana Féres ASSAD-LOSS, José Nelson MUCHA, Carlos Nelson ELIAS

Objective: To morphologically evaluate the active tip of six diferent types of self-drilling mini-implants for orthodontic anchorage. Methods: Images of the active tips of the mini-implants were obtained with a Zeiss optical microscope, Stemi 200-C with magniication of 1.6X. The images of the surface were viewed with the Axio Vision program (Zeiss, Jena, Germany) to calculate linear and angular measures. Mini-implant morphology and the details of tips and threads were also evaluated through Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM) (JEOL, model JSM5800 LV – JEOL, Tokyo, Japan) with magniications of 90X and 70X, respectively. The evaluation of the mini-implant taper shape was assessed using to the formula: (b - a) / (2 x D). Results: The following variables were measured: (1) active tip width, (2) major diameter of external thread, (3) minor diameter of internal thread and taper of the mini-implant, (4) number of threads and lead of the screw, (5) angle of thread, (6) lank width and (7) pitch width. Conclusion: Mini-implants from diferent manufacturers presented active tips with diferent characteristics. Mechanical testing is necessary to correlate the analyzed characteristics aiming to determine the best performance.

Keywords: Orthodontic anchorage procedures. Morphology. Orthodontics.

How to cite: Kitahara-Céia FMF, Assad-Loss TF, Mucha JN, Elias CN. Morphological evaluation of the active tip of six types of orthodontic miniimplants. Dental Press J Orthod. 2013 Mar-Apr;18(2):36-41.

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