MECHANICS OF

ORTHODONTIC TOOTH
MOVEMENT

Dr. Alaa Abdelgadir Ahmed

BDS(UOfK)MSC(UOfK)
Introduction
• In orthodontics Biomechanics is the study about the orthodontic force
and force systems generated by different appliances and its effect of
tooth movement .
• Understanding the biomechanics is essential to determine the
working of an appliance system and planning a force system to bring
about necessary tooth movement and more importantly avoid the
undesirable changes associated with it.
Types of tooth movement
• 1. Tipping - controlled & uncontrolled
• 2. Translation
• 3. Intrusion
• 4. Extrusion
• 5. Rotation
• 6. Root movement (Torquing)
Uncontrolled tipping
• Tooth movement where crown moves in the direction of force while root
moves in opposite direction.
• This is simplest type of tooth movement and requires application of a single
force.
• Uncontrolled tipping is produced by labial bows and springs of a removable
appliance.
Controlled tipping
• Crown moves in the direction of force, root remains in the same
position
• It is a very desirable type of tooth movement.
• It is achieved by application of a force to move the crown and
application of a moment to maintain the position of the root apex.
• Fixed orthodontic appliance systems like Begg appliance and
Preadjusted edgewise appliance can generate controlled tipping
movements .
Translation or Bodily movement
• When the root apex and crown move to the same distance and in the
same direction the tooth movement is called as Translation or bodily
movement .
• A horizontal force applied at the Centre of resistance of a tooth will
result in translation.
• Since the center of resistance of a tooth lies in the root and its not
practically possible to apply the force through the center of resistance
usually a complex force system is needed to create a Bodily tooth
movement
• Pre adjusted edgewise system or straight wire appliance can generate
bodily movement.
Intrusion
• Intrusion is the bodily displacement of a tooth along its long axis in an
apical direction.
Extrusion
• Extrusion is bodily displacement of a tooth along its long axis in an
occlusal direction.
Rotation
• This type of tooth movement occurs when tooth rotates about its
center of resistance.
• A couple is required to produce pure rotation.
• Intrusion, extrusion and rotation requires bodily movement of the
teeth and can be generated by pre adjusted edgewise appliance
Root movement-torque
• Root movement is termed as ‘Torque’.
• Root movement is achieved by keeping the crown of a tooth
stationary and applying a moment and force to move only the root.
• Requires more than single force and best achieved with Torquing
springs of Begg appliance and pre adjusted edgewise appliance
Force
• Force is defined as the load applied to an object that will tend to
move the object to a different position in space
• Force is a vector and is defined by its magnitude & Direction
• The Unit of force is Newton
• An orthodontic force is characterized by
• Magnitude
• Duration
• Point of application and
• Line of action,
Magnitude of Force
• Optimal orthodontic force is the force which generates the desired
tooth movement by frontal resorption without creating undermining
resorption.
• In 1932 , Schwartz defined Optimal orthodontic as the force that will
bring about tissue changes without occluding the capillary blood
vessels and hence should not exceed the capillary blood pressure
( 20-25 g/cm2).
Magnitude of Force
Duration of Force
• Based on the duration of application, force can be divided into :-
• 1. Continuous force
• 2. Intermittent force
• 3. Interrupted force
Moment of force
• Orthodontic forces pass through centre of resistance results in
movement.
• Anatomically it is not possible to apply the orthodontic force through
the centre of resistance as they lie in the radicular area resulting in
rotation .
• The rotational tendency of the force is known as Moment of the force
and is calculated by using the formula
• Moment = Force x Perpendicular distance from C(res) to point of force
application
• Thus it is measured in the unit of gm/mm (NEWTON/mm).
Couple
• Two equal and opposite, parallel forces form a couple.
• The translational effects of the forces cancel each other out, but the
moments of each force combine to rotation of the teeth
• Moment of couple = Force x Perpendicular distance between the
point of application of two forces
•  Thus it is measured in the unit of gm/mm (NEWTON/mm).
Center of resistance
• Center of mass is a point through which an applied force must pass
for a free object to move linearly without any rotation.
• The center of a mass is for a generic free body. Tooth is not a not
generic free and is connected by periodontal support with the
alveolar ligament .
• The analogus to center of mass for a restrained body is Center of
resistance
• The centre of resistance varies between different teeth and different
groups of teeth to be moved
Center of resistance
• 1. Single rooted teeth – junction of 2/3 rd and apical 1/3rd of root
• 2. Multirooted teeth - 2mm apical to the bifurcation
• 3. Maxillary anteriors – distal to lateral incisors
• 4. Maxillary dentition – between roots of premolars
• 5. Maxilla - posterosuperior aspect of zygomatico maxillary suture
Center of rotation
• It is the point around which rotation actually occurs when an object is
being moved.
• Depending upon the force system applied, the center of rotation may
vary resulting in different type of tooth movement
Elastic Materials and the Production
of Orthodontic Force
The Basic Properties of Elastic Materials

The elastic behavior of any material is defined in

terms of its stress–strain response to an external
load. Both stress and strain refer
to the internal state of the material being studied:

stress is the internal distribution of the load,

defined as force per unit area, whereas
strain is the internal distortion produced by the
load, defined as deflection per unit length.
A typical force–deflection curve for an elastic
material like an orthodontic arch wire.
The stiffness of the material is given by the slope
of the linear portion of the curve.
The range is the distance along the X-axis to the
point at which permanent deformation occurs
(usually taken as the yield point,
at which 0.1%permanent deformation has
occurred).
Clinically useful springback occurs if the wire is
deflected beyond the yield point (as to the
point indicated here as “arbitrary clinical
loading”), but it no longer returns to
its original shape. At the failure point, the wire
breaks.
• Two other characteristics of some clinical importance also can be
illustrated with a stress–strain diagram:
• Resilience is the area under the stress–strain curve out to the
proportional limit. It represents the energy storage capacity of the
wire,
• Formability is the amount of permanent deformation that a wire can
withstand before failing. It represents the amount of permanent
bending the wire will tolerate before it breaks.