I. li. Ihcx:, l).l).s(:.(Au~:I,.), l,.l~.S.(VIC.), H.I~.S(:.(JI~:r,tl.

),
hEL;\II)E. ~OIJTH ~~IlSTR.ZLI.~
T
HIS article descrilxs the light arch wircl tc~chniquc and some minor changes
that have been made in it recently.
The tjechniquc has crolvcd after manly pars cspcricncc with the edgewise
techniqnc. It, neither cont,radicts nor sacrifices any of the principles of the
edgewise technique.
r shall oxplain the technique mainly 1)~ giving tlctails 01 I rcatfnc~nt, of a
l)atiellt. with a severe Class IT, Division 1 malocclusion. There will also he
brief descriptions of treatment of other pal iciits. Beforc~ treat,mcnt of pa-
tients is tlescrilxxl, however, the \-arious arc~h wires, bantls, i1lld ausilianics
will he portrapcd and some of the principles of diffcrcliitial force will he de-
sc+l)ed. It. will then be easier to ~uid~~~~tand the descriptions ot treatment t,liat
ill% t0 fOllOW.
Fig. 1 shows a plain arch wire with intermaxillary hooks. The slight bends
iii the anterior region of this arch wire wcrc made to overmovc slightly irregu-
lar teeth beyond regular alignment. ()~.eialo~c~rnc,rlt of rotaM teeth is an cs-
ccllent form of retention, for the tchcth a~ less likel,v to mov( Ijack any more
than to regular alignment after treatment. .\rch wires are made of speciall!.
treated round, resilient, stainless steel wire; usually the)- are 0.016 inch in dian-
cter but sometimes the)- are smallc~~.
bigs. 2, 3, and 4 portray* arch wilaes with vertical espalGotl Loomis. This
looped form of arch wire is used at the start, of treatment to n~akr sl)acc fur
and to align teeth that are so irregular, crowded, and rot,ated that th(y eantloi
he aligned easily by plain arch wires. \Fhcn there is only slight or no crowtl-
ing, however, there is no need to make thcsc loops in the arc~h wires. l,oopecl
arch wires irra,v also l)(l aclivatc~d to 1~10~0 spacetl tee111 together.
Fig. 5 shows an auxiliar)- arcll wire with \Wticill spurs or I)ro.jwtio~ls for
torquciiig tooth roots lingually-. lahiallv. or lniccally.
Presented at the annual meeting of tlrc .\nwri(an A\ssociation of Ortl~~~tlontists in Wash-
ington, n. C., April 28, 1960.
1.
ITorizontal band spurs are shown in Fig. 8. These spurs, at,tached to the
hands mesial or distal to the brackets, arc for torqueing tooth roots mesiall,v
or distally.
It will have been observctl that IJr. Xdward IT. Angles rihhon arch
bracket is used. Its dimensions have hcen altered to tit light arch wire.
SOME CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TECHiVIQUE
All tooth movements--bodily, torqueing, tipping, and rotating-can he
performed. All forms of rn;llocclusion are treated wit,h this tcchniquc.
Fig. (i shows all arc11 \viro will] \'t'l*ti(*ill sl)urs of slightly tlilllcretrt tlcsign.
The sl)~u+s on thwc auxiliary arch wiws project; gingivally wlir~r the roots have
to Ix 1i10vr~t1 lingttally, and towarcl the ocalusal plane when t hc roots have to
he movctl labia I Iy. On the Icft side of Fig. 7, cyelcts are port,rayed. These
arc used with ligature wires to torque tooth roots mesially or distally. A
torqncing wire is shown on the right side of Fig. 7. Torqueing wires move
teeth to their correct, mesiodistal axial relations without having to he re-
ilctivatrtl.
Wig. 6.
Wig. 8.
The principle of difterential force will now he explained briefly. In this
technique, advantage is taken of the principl(L that, for moving teeth with a
small root-surface area relatively light arch wire and rubher ligature forces
produce the most rapid movement with the lcast disturbance to tooth-investingy
tissues. These light, forces leave the larger-rooted posterior anchor teeth almost
stationary. (lonversely, relatively large forcts ~austr the anterior teeth to resist
t ho pressure. Therefore the anterior teeth t~~ovc very slowly, so that they,
paradoxically, can be made to act as anc~ho~~ i WI 11 while the posterior ieeth--
the so-called anchor teeth-move rapidly.
When this differential force prirwiplc is applied to treatment, there is no
difficulty in moving post,erior teeth mesiall? int)o first premolar extraction
spaces, or in moving anterior teeth hack into these spaces, according to the
requirement of each patient. Of course, an intermediate force simultaneously
\ du111L! 4i l,~(:Hl .\WH ISIKE TE(IINIQlI:
Ullrnlwr I
33
~noves the posterior anchor teeth mesially and the anterior teeth distally. The
principles of differential force have been previously described in more detai1.l
When differential force is used in non-extraction cases, anterior teeth can
be moved back onto basal bone. This is done by taking advantage of the
spaces between teeth. With differential force, the positions of posterior teeth
can he controlled more successfully than with techniques that employ heavier
forces. As the posterior teeth can be prevented from moving too far mesiall>-,
I hc purpose of orthodontic tooth extraction is not defeated.
Another example of the application of differential force is it,s routine use
for reducing deep anterior overbite by the force from tip-back bends in thr
arch wires, usually placed immediately distal to the bracket on t,he band of the
second premolar. The arch wire force from these tip-bark bends is so light
that the molars are neither tipped back nor elevated in their sockets, but the
force is of the appropriateIF low value to depress upper and lower anteriol
t cleth in their sockct,s.
Furthermore, owing to the use of opt,imum arch wire and rubber ligature
forces throughout treatment, it, is possible to keep all teeth moving--from start,
to finish of treatment-by direct paths from their original positions to their
corrected occlusion. Teeth are kept moving toward their posttreatment
positions without the interruption of having their movement reversed b>
(llass TII intermaxillary elastics in preparation for mandibular anchorage t 0
rrsist force from Class II intermaxillary elastics. It is also unnrcessar>- to
rise removable appliances, before or during act,& treatment, to aid the arch
wires in moving the teeth. This is because with light arch wires it is easy to
conduct tooth movements without causing undue movements of anchor teeth.
Round, instead of rectangular, arch wire is used chicfly hause it allows
simple tipping of teeth. It is also used because rectangular arch wire would
have to he so small to deliver the light forces nccdcd for this technique that
it. would slip around (cvcn in the most tight-fittin g braclrrts) when activated
to torque tooth roots. Then no torque force would 1~ deliveretl.
The sequence in the stages of treatmrnt differs from that of the cdgewisc
technique. This is hecause tooth-moving Iorce vwlncs can lw increased or tie-
creased ilS mpiircd.
~rlum~rnmxw Olp .\N II~l~USTK.\TIVb: ('.\Sl*:
The following case was chosen for presentation because the plan of treat-
mcnt, is typical for this light arch wire technique.
The patient had a Class II, Division 1 malocclusion complicated by pro-
nounced tooth crowding and himaxillary protrusion (Figs. 9 and 10). Figs.
11 and 12 show the patient after treatment.
Fig. 13 shows the occlusion when it was impossible for any of the four
lower premolars to erupt because of lack of space. The lower second permanent
molars could not erupt, since they were impacted almost horizontally.
There-
fore, at this time the four permanent first molars were extracted to allow
eruption of t.hc n1,per and lower first and second premolars and the permanent
second molars.
i

-

This patient, had the most severe Class II, Division 1 condition that I have
seen. The lower right canine occluded distall,v to the upper right first premolar.
On the left side, the occlnsal malrclatiorls were almost as severe.
The four first premolars were cstracted just before active treatment was
started. It is only when patients havc~ the most marked tooth-hone clis-
crepancy that eight teeth are cstractcd.
Such pronounced discrcpancirs arc estimated to comprise about 3 p01
cent of cases requiring tooth cstradion. Gt?ner~illl~-, only the four first pre-
molars are cstractcd.
Treatment of Class II and (:lass I malocclusions is divided into three
stagw, as, of course, was the trcai-merit> of this piltiVIlt.
Fig. 1.5
First Stcqe (I%!/. 16).-Plain upper and lower arch wires were applied
at the start of treatment,. Iligature wires, tied loosely around the distal sides
of the canine brackets and the intcrmasillary hooks, prevented the six upper
ant1 lower anterior teeth from moving apart. The four permanent wc~ontl
molars wcrc the anchor molars.
Of course, in all hut a few patients, the permaiieiit~ first molars arc not
cstracted. The- arc then the illl(ahor tecxth and the second permanent molars
arc not, handed.
During l.Iiis first, stage 01 1 rcat meni, llrc Iollowing t.ootlr niovwients wcw
carried out, sitnultaneousI\- : (1 ) The slightli- irwgular ltppcr and lower
anterior teeth were alignetl. [l) The tlecp anterior overbite was clirninatcd.
(3) The anteroposterior occlnsal malrelations were corrected. (1) The dental
arches were tuade to assutue good cotitours. ( 5) The spaces created by es-
Iraction of the four first prcmolars wvre reduced itt size but ttol. half c~loscvl.
(6) Premolar Yotations were overc~oi~rc~tctl.
These toot,11 ttiovetiietits of the first stage of t tvattiietit w(Lre cat2iecl out itr
the following mariner : Slight bends were made in the anterior segtuetits ot
both upper and low-et* l)laiti at~lt I\-irks to citusc o~c~~co~~ect;iolr 0 1 the slightly.
irregular incisors. Sleep tip-back Ixv~tls. l)lac:etl some distance ttiesial to thr
Wig. 17 Fig. 19
molar tubes at the start of tmtttrtetrt itt l)otlt ttpltcr illltl lower arch witacs, dC-
pressed tltc six upper and loM.tlt. atttct*ior teeth gitigivally and t ttct*eby elittri-
ttated the tlevp atttetk overbitt>. .2lso, at t tie start OF treattttettt, a (lass I1
ititerniasillary elastic was applied 011 eac*lt sitlc. F&h elastic esert,ed a force
of between 60 and 70 grams. Thcreforcl, the deep irtciso~ overbite, the ovcrjet.
aud the Class 11 occlusal malrelat ions wcrc l)cirig c~orrc~ctcd sitttultartcoitsl~-.
As the operations of eliminatin, 0 the anterior overbite and of correcting
anteroposterior occlusal malrelations were performed simultaneously, each opera-
tion benefited from the reciprocal interplay of the tooth-moving forces. If the two
operations of eliminating the deep anterior overbite by means of the tip-back
l)ends in the arch wires and of correcting the Class II occlusal relations of the
ic~rth by (lass II elastics arc not pcrformcd simultaneously, neither of the two
operations can be successfullS accomplished, for the following reason : Class
I I elastics could then not, tip the upper anterior teeth back beyond the point
where they would strike the lower anterior teeth. This striking would Cause
the lower molars to be moved mesially by the (lass II elastics. Also, the
anterior bitcl opcaning, brought about. by the tip-back bends in the arch wires.
would collapse unless maintained by t,he edgeto-edge occlusal relations of the
incisors that had bcctn attained with the Class II elastics.
\Vc will now continue with the description of the paGents treatment. The
(Ilass Il. elastics were tippin g back the six upper anterior teeth simultaneously,
hut the upper posterior teeth were not bein g moved distally by the Class II
chlastics l~causc the distal ~~1s of the arch wire were able to slide back freol?
tlllmgll t11c I~rol;ll~ t111,cs. Thercforc, the upper extraction spaces bccamc
snialler.
At the same time, the distal ends of the lower arch wire were sliding back
freely through the lower molar tubes, so that the lower extraction spaccs ww
l)ecomin~ slnaller-not because the lower posterior teeth were ljeing n~orrd
mesially to an\- appreciable extent by the Class II elastics hut hcause the six
lower anterior tcct,h were being tipped back onto basal bone.
There has hn no satisfactory explanation, so far as I am an-are, for this
tipping-back of ihe lower anterior teeth when no deliberate attempt is being
made to close the lomcr (Mraction spaces.
Fig. 17 shows the condition at the end of the first stage of treatment. At
this stage (lass II occlusal relations are always purposely overcorrectcd until
the molars almost reach (lass III relations and until the incisors are in edge-to-
edge relations. This occlusion is maintained throughout treatment 1)~ ('lass IT
elastics until just lwfore active treatment is finished.
Secontl Stcr~~e of Il~~~~nf~)~r~zt.--The only purpose of the second stage is to
complete the closure of the extraction spaces. In each of the four buccal seg-
m(lnts, an elastic is hooked over the distal free end of the arch wire. It is brought
forward and hooked onto the intermaxillary hook to close the extraction space.
Treatment is certain to fail if horizontal space-closing elastics are worn during
the first stage of treatment. The only exception t,o this rule will he mentioned
later. Space-closing elastics are identical in size and strength with those used
for intcrmasillar>- &sties. The six upper and lower anterior tecbth were not
moved hack botlil~- hut were sittlply I-ippetl back silnultanc~oL~sl~- IO close the
estrartioii spac*es. \Vhilc the extraction spacaes were being calosed, (Ilass 11
intermasillary elastics also had to be worn 11s this patient, as by all Class II
patients, to maintain the previously ovcrcorrected anteroposterior occlusal
relations of the teeth.
38
REGG
Fig. 18 shows the condition at, the end of the second stage of treatment.
The appearance of the paCent at this sta.ge was far from plcasing. Only in
patients w&h marked bimaxillary protrusion does the backward tipping r)t
upper and lower anterior teeth become as pronounced as it was in this patient.
The crowns of anterior teeth are allow4 to tip back insttvltl of being
moved back bodily hccause their bodily movclment, would so strain the molar
anchorage that the molars would be moved too filr mcsiaIl~-.
Those learning to use this techniqnc arc Iikcly to become so alal~nrt~l 1)~ the
unpleasant appearance of their patients ilt this st,agc that they mu;- he afraid
to continue and may therefore girt UJ) i1l thr lllitltllc ot treattllerlt. ~hweforc.
all stages of treatment. carried out 1)~ casperic>ncvd operators, should 1)~ ol~~\rtl
by those who intend IO start IAng this tcvhniclnc. Also. I)ctore starting to Iis0
this technique, the or~tliodontisl. Sho11ld Iilk? il coinprehensivc coII1sc of in-
struction in its use.
Fig. 20.
.1Sstraction sl)aces arc not ~~Iosf~d until iI lter ( lass 11 elastics have cot-
rected anteropostrrior occlnsal relations, for this ensures that the Class ZI
elastics will not move the lower anterior tooth lahialIy off basal bone. In othcl
words, thcl extraction spaces act 21s saft+y valves to prevellt mandibular
anchorage failure.
Third Stage of Treatment (air]. I!)).-The third and final stage of treat-
ment is designed to put all teeth into good asial relations, that is, to upright
all teeth. At, the beginnin, 0~ of this stage, nppel* and lower auxiliary arch wires
containing vertical spurs were applied gingivallv to the original arch wires.
Thus, the patient simultaneousl> wore four arch wires-two upper and
two lower. The vertical spurs, leaning against the four upper and lowel
incisors, were act,ivated to torque the roots of these teeth lingually. Also.
at. the beginning of this third st,agc, the IlOlhlltill band spufs at th?
Illesiogill#ivill angles 01 all Ilre sccv~ncl l)rc~moI;~i~s \vflrv Ilscvl lo lllovc the CLOWIIS
of these letltlr distally. ~11 tllC Silltlt i imc I)I(h wiliilv IY~OIS \VPl( lil)lWl l)il.(k
by the springs portrayed in Fig. 7.
From Fig. 20 it. may be seen that, the roots of the canine and the s~on~l
premolar are paralleled. Turin g this third stage of treatment the mesiodistal
ilXial rclatims of the incisors wc~re c~~rrc~c~it~~l, wlIerc n~wssary, l)y thrca~lin~
ligatllrc wires through the eyc1ct.s anti extending
t hew ligatures around the
arch wires and periodically tightenin, 1~ the ligatures as shown in Fig. 7.
To prevent the extraction spaces from opening, the buccal segments were
tied back with ligature wires extendin, (7 around behind the molar tubes to the
intermaxillary hooks.
Fig. 21 shows the appliances in position at the end of active treatment.
(%LSS TI elastics had to be worn during this third stage of treatment, since
whenever they were left off there were signs that the orercorrccted antcro-
posterior occlusal relations would not otherwise be fully maintained.
Active treatment time was twenty-one months. For the first third of the
treatment period, disappointingly slow progress was made because the patient
was unable to keep appointments regularly. An upper Ilawley retainer was
worn for six and one half months. So lower retention appliance was worn.
Fig. 21
The final models, already portrayed in Figs. I-l and 15, represent thcl
condition twenty-three months after the end of the retention period.
When first. permanent molars are used for anchorage, small round molar
tubes are used and the distal ends of the arch wires are not doubled back as
the!- were for this patient.
The Use of Nnrrow Zjjacliet.V.--Thc chief reason for using such m&o-
distally narrow brackets as the ribbon arch bracket is to allow simple tipping ot
the crowns of the teeth to take place mcsially or distally until the third stage of
treatment is begun. Brackets that arc wide mesiodistally should never be used
for this technique, for if anterior t,eeth are held rigidly to the arch mire in the
mesiodistal direction during the first and second stages of treatment mesial and
distal movements of the roots of anterior teeth cannot be avoided. In other
words, simple mcsial and distal tippin g of the crowns of these teeth cannot
take place.
Root movement of anterior teeth unavoidably occurs if brackets with
mesiodistally long arch wire-seating channels, such as tie brackets, are used.
This wet, IIIO~CIM~~~~ rausrs stmrg n%tatlcc 10 tlic io1~~4 l)eing uscvl to til)
mitcl*iov t.eeth back into the extraction spaccs. This I)revents simplex tlista 1
tipping of canines. Thus, the posterior anc~hor teeth will he moved too fa I
mesially and the ant,erior teeth will bc left out too far labially in the outer
cortical layer of the bone.
If tic brackets are introduced into this technique, many of the ad\-antage :
of the differential forcbc principle will be lost and it will then also be 101111~1
necessai>* to introduce cxstraoral anchoragi~. It is well known that it is iu-
possible to obtain a high standard of results with rectangular illTall wire tec*ll-
niqnes for the most pronounced forms of biniaxillary protrusion and the most
cstensi\c excess of tooth substance, even if extraoral anchorage is also
eniploycd. IIiph standards for these paGents arc equally impossible wit,h tll(l
light wire tcchniyue it wide brackets, such as tic btxckcts, are crnployed, ww
ii extraoral ;IrlchOlYlgc~ is nsd ils iI11 (Xtlil ilitl.
Howcve~n, if mcsiodistally llarro\\- 1)rackct.s that permit, unrc~strai~~~~tl mcsial.
tlistal, lillgllill, labial, and buccal tippin, 0 01 tll(! (IiJ\VllS Of the t?PtIl ilIi ~lll~~lO)~~Yl
with the light witQ(l trc~hniqnc, so-callet difficult malocclusions can bc trcxtetl sue-
cessfl111~-. It is lhcn Ilot, necessary, ilrld of 110 ad\-antagc, to oml)lO~ PXt~KlOl'il1
a?lc~Jloragc.
I~p~i~-lhtiw~ Sw07~tl I).P~~~(jl~~I..s.--I)~llili~ the first two stages of lreatlnefit,
the crowns of the second premolar3 arc allowed to t,ip mesially. While t he
second prcn~olars arc bein g uprighted during the third stage of trc~atment, t hc
force cserted t,o torqtlc their crowns (listally helps to prevent the molars from
being inovctl niesiall-.
It is ot vital iml)ort;utcr that the three stages of trcatmc,nt be kcl)i
rclparate. That, is, thcl operations that shoultl 1~ complctcd during one stage
should never 1~2 allowed to merge iill or overlap those of another stage oi
treatment. I )iuing thcl first and sc~iitl stages of treatment the crowns 011 all
teeth csccpt ttic anc.hor molars illC allowcil simply to til) in any dir&ions that
the)- t,cntl to take. SimpIc tooth tipping is the simplest of all tooth movements
and rcqiGi*es less force than other nioveitients. Simple tooth tipping throws
less strain on the ancahor molars than tlo bodily tooth movements. Molar
anchorage is i.arefully guarded anil preserved 1)) biling required only to resist
tipping inovc~iiicnts ol other lcct Ii. JIolar anchorage faitnro is prevented in
this wap.
.lrch Wiyes With Certic*l Spzcr,s.---auxiliary arch wires with verticaal
spurs are 1~4 to torque incisor roots lingually during the third stage of treat-
ment, instead of the vertical spurs placed in the main arch mire that were for-
merly used (Figs. 5 and 6).
The change was made because it was found that, when a single arch wire
with vertical spurs was used the torque force exerted by the vertical spurs
t,ransmitted a spiral force along the buccal segments of thn arch wire. This
spiral force was transmitted distally along the a.rch wire through the til)-
back bends and therefore rotatcd the molars mcsiolingually.
Readjustments to dpyAzncrs.-In the case that has been described in this
article the upper and lower arch wires were removed once during the s~ond
st>aw of tleat111e11t.
k
This was don0 to shorten t.lic distal ends that protruded
too far back t,hrough t,he molar tubes.
In the third stage of treatment, the upper and lower arch wires were rc-
moved for adjustment, so that more accurate occlusion of the teeth could be
oht,ained.
These were the only t,wo readjustments made to the arch wires during
trea.trnent.
Sw~mnry of the Patients lrentment.--Dnring the first stage, the follow
ing operations were carried out simultaneously : (1) Irregular teeth were
aligned. (2) The deep anterior overhitc was eliminated. (3) Class II occlusal
relations were corrected. (1) Upper and lower anterior teet,h were tipped back.
(5) The contours of both dental arches were brought to good proportions.
(6) Extraction spaces were made slightly smaller. (7) Premolar rotations
\v(re o\-ercorrc~ct,cd. Incidt~ntally, if patients have molar cross-bite, this is (OF
rccted during the first stage.
In the sc?contl stage all extraction spaces were completely closed. This
caused the upper and lower anterior teeth to be tipped back much farther than
at, t.he end of the first stage of treatment.
In the third rrrd final stage of treatment the axial relations of all but the
molar anchor teeth were corrected. Of course, the molars were kept upright
t hroughol~t treatment.
lTtrktiows to the technique we sometimes required. For exarnplc, it is
sometimes found unnecessary to use arch wires with vertical spurs to upright
upper and lower incisors. This is because the labiolingual axial inclinations
of the upper and lower incisors are so good at the end of the second stage of
treatment that it. is then predictable t,hat vertical spurs will not be required.
IToweycr! it, is still necessary in these cases to parallel the canine and premolar
roots. In many patients whose upper and lower incisors arc only slightly
inclined lingually at the end of the second stage of treatment, these incisors
are made to incline labially, entirely as a result of the a&ion of the sprillg
mires used to torque the roots of the canines distally.
TREATMENT OF MILD DISCREPANCY CASES
In paGents whose discrepancies arc mild but sufficient to require extraction
of four first premolars, the six upper and lower anterior teeth have to be moved
back only a small distance. Therefore, considerable mesial movement of t,hc
posterior teeth is required. This is done by applying auxiliary arch wires with
slightly activated vertical spnrs leaning against the incisors at the time the
extraction spaces arc being closed. These vert,ical spurs prevent the anterior
teeth from being tipped back and ensure that the posterior teeth will move
mesially. This is the only exception to the rule that all teeth except, the anchor
molars must be allowed to tip until the third stage of treatment.
RESTJLTX OF TREATMENT OF OTHER PATIENTS
lMateral Aw@al Resection of the Mandible (Fig. 22).-Immediately
after completion of active orthodontic treatment, which took eleven months,
Teeth E.ctmctco! Uc~orc 01~thotlo~ tic Itwrdmmt Was Sought (rii~. 16).-
This patient had four first premolars c>stractcd several years before orthodontic
t,reatment was begun. Fig. 27 shows a phot,ograph taken after completion ot
orthodontic treatment. Appliance therapy took four months. Figs. 28 and
29 show the patient before and after treatment.
Only Pour Pirst Premolws Extructed in a Severe Malocclusion.-The pa-
tient whose condition is portrayed in Figs. 30 and 31 had four first premolars
extracted. Figs. 32 and 33 show the result of treatment. This patients con-
dition is presented because it shows that maintenance of stability of mm-
dibular anchorage for Class II elastics is not a difficult problem when diffcr-
cntial forces are used fey all aspects of treatment. Appliance therapy took
Fig. 24.
Vig. 21;. Kc. 27
six nut1 one half mouths. Photographs taken before trcatnumt (Figs. :1-l and
35) and after treatincnt. (Figs. 36 and 37) indicate the improvement in facial
appearance. The final l~hotopral~hs were taken three years after completion of
the retention period.
ix:. :. Fig. :i 1
ix. 3 Fig. 3 :i
Fig. 34. vip. 3.i
Fig. 36. Fig. 37.
Fig. 38
Fix. 39.
Tr1~1601t~~)~t u/ futif ,I/ ICillr. /~rrp~:lc tl /,.pp I (trrrinc.~~--llle ~)a I iellt. wln+x~
c~oiltlit.ion l)eIorc alltl ilttcr treat fnent, is Iwlt 1~ay~Yl in Fig. :3X had llillil.1;1 I inl-
I)ac%ioll ol an uplwr atluli. canine. .\l)l)liaiic~c thcral)~~ toolr icn nronl IIS.
The I~nie covering this canine was removed and a pin was inserted in lhc~
tooth, as indicated in Fig. 39. Although the apes of the root of the lateral
incisor was resorbed, this tooth has reniaincd vital.
Fig. 40 shows the crown of this canine surgically uncovered. It shows also
the method used to move it into alignment,. In I3,.
4 0. 11 the canine is seen to 1x1
in alignment.
Figs. 42 to 45 show the l)atients face l~ciorc and after trcatnrent. The
final photographs were taken two years after treatjment.
It is routine practice to use the light. arch wire t.echnique to elevate
severely impacted teeth, whether they 1~ incisors, canines, or premolars. Third
molars are also elevated by this method if there is sufficient space for them.
This elevation of impacted teeth is always done simultaneously with t,he rest,
of treatment that is required. Since it is done during the first stage of treat,-
ment, the total time of treatment is not indefinitely prolonged as it is when one
merely uncovers impacted teeth and waits for them to erupt of their own
accord. The light arch wire force is most suitable for moving impacted teeth
rapidly without moving the anchor teeth involvrtl.
CONCI,CSION
In conclusion it is necessary to point out that it is not hecause of supcrioi
skill with their hands that orthodontists obtain superior results with the light
n-ire technique as compared with the results that they formerly obtained with
other techniques. The reason for this is that optimal arch wire and ruhbcl
Ligature forces arc delivered throughout treatment with the light wire technique.
Furthermore, when other techniques arc empIo,vc~d for treatment of those frc-
quently occurring scvcrc Class II conditions that arc compIicat,ed by marked
cscess of tooth size over jaw size, no more is plnnncd for and no morc is achieved
than to lcavc the lower bucc;ll teeth ill sIi&tl,v distal occlusion ;Ind also t)o Icave
the crowns of the upper incisors with iI lingual inclination and the crowns of
tlic Iowcr incisions wit,Ii ;I Iahial in~liniltiori in ortlcr lo Icssen the otllorwisc con-
sidcrnl)Ie ovcrjct ol the uppcr incisors. III caontrast, with tht> light, wire tcch-
niquc, thcsc SWWP Class TT conditions (YIN IW lxmght, to that high standard