Objective. Gummetal is a novel multifunctional alloy which possesses distinctive properties with the potential to refine and amend the efficacy of orthodontic treatment. The objective of this critical literature review was to investigate scientific evidence concerning the mechanical and clinical features of this recently manufactured beta-titanium orthodontic wire. Materials and Methods. Electronic databases: PubMed, PMC, Google Scholar, Ovid, and Cochrane Library were searched. Studies investigating the properties of Gummetal orthodontic wire including in vitro and clinical studies were selected, validity was assessed, and data was extracted. The risk of bias was assessed by the Cochrane risk of bias Tool 2.0 in a randomized clinical trial. Results and Discussion. Among 322 papers, 13 papers were selected and divided into two groups: prospective double-blinded randomized clinical trial and in vitro studies. Conclusions. The results of this review should be interpreted with caution because of the heterogeneity of the studies. Only single clinical trial paper was found in the literature. The studies reported different characteristics obtained by various methods; thus, it was difficult to objectively compare the results. Low bending strength, low fatigue limit, and high resilience have been confirmed. Gummetal provides lower force than Nitinol and TMA but higher than Supercable wire. Plastic deformation of Gummetal questions its superelasticity. Friction of Gummetal wire is comparable to SS and CoCr wires. Because of its nontoxic chemical composition, Gummetal might be useful in the initial phase of orthodontic treatment for patients suffering from nickel allergy. Further studies are necessary to assess the usefulness of Gummetal in the clinical practice.

The aim of the study was to analyze retention protocols and materials for fixed retainers used by clinicians providing orthodontic treatment in Poland. The survey was carried out from February to April 2021. The questionnaire was designed using the Google Forms tool. After validation, the questionnaire was delivered to verified active orthodontists gathered in a closed social media group of 615 members. Finally, 104 answers were received. Answers to individual questions were provided in percentages and tabularized. A chi-squared test of proportion was used to compare: the proportion of clinicians using retainers of different characteristics and the proportions of clinicians indicating the superiority of a given clinical solution. Rectangular steel braided wire was rated as most reliable. However, doctors who declared to use gold chain were mostly solely using this type of wire. Multistranded round wire was rated the worst. Fiber-reinforced composite was mainly used in periodontal patients. The protocols used by Polish orthodontic practitioners relied on double long-term retention with regular follow-up. The most popular material was stainless steel braided rectangular wire bonded with a flowable composite. Most clinicians believed they could maintain the treatment results, but they declared that patients’ cooperation was a challenge.

The frequency of some sella turcica abnormalities on cephalometric radiographs is age related. Chronological age might not overlap with growth; however, no studies could be found on the association between sellar morphology and dental age. Although an association exists between sella turcica bridging and dental abnormalities, no studies have been found correlating sellar abnormalities other than bridging with dental abnormalities. The aim of this study was to find any correlations between sella turcica abnormalities and dental age or dental abnormalities. Methods: Lateral cephalograms and panoramic radiographs of 206 children aged 6–15 years were analyzed for sela turcica abnormalities, Demirijan dental age, and dental abnormalities. Results: The prevalence of dental abnormalities in patients with sela turcica abnormalities was 16.98%, while in those with normal sella, it was 3%. The differences between dental and chronological age were higher in patients with sella turcica abnormalities (p = 0.002). Dental abnormalities were more prevalent (p = 0.001) in patients with sellar abnormalities other than sellar bridging than in those with sellar bridging or normal sella. Conclusions: Sella turcica abnormalities are correlated with delayed dental age. Dental abnormalities are more frequent in patients with sellar abnormalities. Dental abnormalities are less frequent in subjects with sellar bridges compared to those with other sellar abnormalities.

Background. This study aimed to determine the kinetic frictional force (FF) of the recently produced TiNbTaZrO (Gummetal) orthodontic wire and compare it to the widely used wires of stainless steel (SS), nickel-titanium (NiTi), cobalt-chromium (CoCr) and titanium-molybdenum (TiMo) alloys. Methods. Five types of 0.016″ × 0.022″ wires were ligated with elastic ligatures to 0.018″ × 0.025″ SS brackets. The dynamic FFs between the brackets and ligated wires were measured utilizing a specialized tensile tester machine. Prior sample sizes for different archwires were conducted using power analysis for the general linear models. The existence of significant differences in FF between examined materials was initially confirmed by the one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with further evidence of pairwise differences by Tukey’s Honest Significant Difference test. Results. The pairwise differences between means of kinetic FFs for NiTi, CoCr, and Gummetal wires were not statistically significant (adjusted p-value > 0.05). Stainless steel alloy presented the lowest FF values significantly different from other groups (adjusted p-value < 0.05). On the contrary, TiMo wires showed significantly greater FFs (adjusted p-value < 0.05) than other alloys. Conclusions. Gummetal orthodontic wire exhibits similar frictional resistance as NiTi and CoCr wires. Bendable TiNbTaZrO wire might be used for sliding mechanics due to its favorable frictional properties.