Evaluation of Nickel and Chromium Ion Release from Stainless Steel, HANT and NiTi Arch Wires in Two 28-day Time Spans

Stainless steel and Nickel Chromium alloys show special mechanical features, which has made them the most common materials for fabrication of orthodontic arch wires. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of length of immersion and type of arch wire on release of nickel and chromium ions from fixed orthodontic appliances. 15 simulated half-arch maxillary fixed orthodontic appliances were divided into 3 groups according to the types of arch wires. Each sample was individually immersed in 50 ml of distilled water and incubated at 37ºC for 28 days. Afterwards, solutions were sent to laboratory for investigation of the released ions and the samples were incubated for another 28 days in new distilled water. After each 28-day time span, the concentrations of nickel and chromium were measured using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. T-test was used for statistical analysis and P < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Stainless steel arch wires released the greatest amount of nickel and chromium ions at both 28 days periods. The lowest amount of nickel and chromium in both time spans was released from NiTi and HANT arch wires, respectively Nickel ion release decreased overtime while the chromium release increased. The amounts of released nickel and chromium ions from fixed orthodontic appliances from all three types of evaluated arch wires were below the daily dietary intake of these ions and do not bring about biological concerns.