The SPEED System: An Overview of the

Appliance and Clinical Performance

Jeffrey L. Berger

The SPEED appliance (Strite Industries Ltd., 298 Shepherd Ave., Cambridge,
Ontario, N3C 1V1 Canada), invented by Dr. G. Herbert Hanson in the early
1970s, is a miniaturized self-ligating bracket with an active spring clip. This
fully preadjusted edgewise appliance, which is available in both 0.018ⴖ and
0.022ⴖ slot size, has been in clinical use since 1977 and commercially avail-
able since 1980. During the past 25 years, the SPEED design has been highly
refined. Refinements include the incorporation of a superelastic nickel tita-
nium spring clip for greater precision of tooth movement throughout treat-
ment, a “labial window” that enhances ease of opening the spring clip, and
a horizontal auxiliary slot in the bracket body that facilitates segmental
archwire mechanics. Although the SPEED bracket is compatible with virtu-
ally any archwire selection, specific archwires have been designed to fully
exploit SPEED’s inherent benefits. These include Supercable (Strite Indus-
tries Ltd.), a seven-stranded coaxial nickel titanium archwire, Hills Dual-
Geometry archwire (Strite Industries Ltd.), and SPEED archwires. Whether
traditional or specialty archwires are used, SPEED, with its highly flexible
spring clip, creates a unique mechanical system that is ideally suited for
ultra-precise orthodontic tooth movement. (Semin Orthod 2008;14:
54-63.) © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Basis for the SPEED Design ● Improved esthetics,

n 1970, when Dr. G. Herbert Hanson began
I work on the design of a new orthodontic
appliance, two aspects of modern orthodontics
were absent. The delegation of clinical duties to
assistants was not widely permitted and elasto-
meric ligatures did not yet exist. It was not un-
common at this time for a single practitioner to
see a mere eight patients per day. His goal there-
fore was to create a new edgewise appliance that
could improve operator efficiency—a self-ligat-
ing design was the obvious choice. In addition to
improving operator efficiency, Hanson’s design
goals focused on five key points:
Director of SPEED Technique Clinic and Clinical Associate
Professor, University of Detroit Mercy, Detroit, MI.
Address correspondence to Jeffrey L Berger, BDS, Dip Orth, The
Windsor Health Centre, 600 Tecumseh Road East, Suite #241, Wind-
sor, Ontario, Canada N8X 4X9; E-mail: drjeff.berger@gmail.com
© 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
1073-8746/08/1401-0$30.00/0
doi:10.1053/j.sodo.2007.12.006
● Significant miniaturization,
● Greater precision and control of tooth move-
ment,
● Reduced tendency to trap food, and
● Greater predictability of friction.
To achieve these objectives, Hanson’s design
would differ from past self-ligating designs such
as the Boyd Bracket (1933)1 and the Ford
Bracket (1933; Woodside and coworkers,1 and
Ford WF, personal communications). The focus
of Boyd’s and Ford’s “passive self-ligating de-
sign” was primarily on archwire entrapment. Its
tooth control was solely dependent on the fit be-
tween archwire and edgewise slot. Dr. Hanson en-
visioned a self-ligating appliance, which could do
much more. Replacing the ligature or rigid door
with a precisely formed flexible component not
only offered the potential to satisfy his original
design objectives, but more importantly created a
self-ligating design that could actively cooperate
with the archwire in corrective tooth movement.

54 Seminars in Orthodontics, Vol 14, No 1 (March), 2008: pp 54-63

 The SPEED Appliance
This was the birth of the “active self-ligating de-
sign.”
Clinical design tests began in the mid-1970s
when Hanson began to work with a Canadian
aerospace manufacturer, Strite Industries Lim-
ited. Sectioned pieces of watch springs, pur-
chased from a local jeweler, were carefully fitted
by Hanson onto prototype bracket bodies that
were then welded to bands. These attachments
were installed onto selected teeth to test clinical
performance and permit an assessment of his
concept. Successful tests of these largely “hand-
made” prototypes led to a process of design
optimization, which culminated into the wide
scale clinical testing of machine-made proto-
types. More than 600 patients underwent success-
ful treatment between October 1977 and January
1980, thus confirming the soundness of the design
now known as the “SPEED” appliance. Further
confirmation for the basis of the SPEED design
came during the same period with the withdrawal
from the market of the Edgelok appliance,1,2 a
passive self-ligating design that enjoyed widespread
commercial exposure throughout the 1970s.
Introduction of the SPEED appliance occurred
in 1980.3 Since that time, a process of continual
improvement has occurred due to the close col-
laboration between the inventor, clinicians in the
field, and the manufacturer. The SPEED appli-
ance of today, as shown in Fig 1, is a highly refined
orthodontic mechanism that generates overlap-
ping benefits for both patients and clinicians.4
The SPEED Design
The SPEED appliance is a preadjusted, miniatur-
ized edgewise appliance that uses a superelastic
Figure 1. The SPEED appliance. A highly refined
orthodontic design that has been clinically proven for
more than 25 years. (Color version of figure is avail-
able online.)
55
Figure 2. (A) The range of motion of the spring clip
is illustrated. The stored energy in the spring clip acts
progressively to move the tooth until the archwire is
fully seated in the home position in the bracket slot.
(B) This illustrates the low friction metal-to-metal con-
tact between the archwire and the SPEED bracket.
(C) The spring clip activated for rotation is shown.
The spring clip will continually act to rotate the tooth
until the archwire is seated in the home position in
the bracket, as in Fig 2B. (Color version of figure is
available online.)
nickel titanium spring clip to entrap the arch-
wire.5 This flexible spring clip can occupy either
of two resting positions: “slot closed” to capture
the archwire, or “slot open” to release the arch-
wire. The spring clip is also capable of storing
energy, which is gently released as corrective
tooth movement occurs.
When corrective tooth movement is required,
archwire engagement results in the elastic de-
flection of the spring clip as shown in Fig 2A-C.
This elastic deflection represents energy stored
in the spring clip, which is released as the
bracket and its accompanying tooth are reori-
ented relative to the archwire, in a corrective
manner. Any subsequent movement of the tooth
from this ideal position results in a repeat of this
corrective process and a return of the tooth to its
correct position. The SPEED design ensures pre-
cise control of tooth movement in all three
planes of space due to this unique interaction
between bracket and archwire.
It is important to note that SPEED is a fully
preadjusted appliance offered in a full range of
popular torque prescriptions (Table 1). Although
the SPEED brackets are similar in appearance,
they are specifically designed for each individual
tooth. Each attachment consists of up to five
components (Fig 3). These include a multislot-
ted bracket body, a permanently installed super-
elastic nickel titanium spring clip, an in-out
adapter, an integral Mushroom Hook™ and a
Micro-Retentive Mesh™ bonding base. The
main edgewise archwire slot is available in either
56 J.L. Berger

Table 1. Torque Prescriptions Available for the SPEED Appliance

Central Lateral First Second First Second
Incisor Incisor Canine Premolar Premolar Molar Molar

Hanson maxilla ⫹12 ⫹8 ⫺7 ⫺7 ⫺7 ⫺10 ⫺10

Hanson mandible ⫹5 ⫹3 ⫺4 ⫺4 ⫺8 ⫺24 ⫺28
Regular (Roth) maxilla ⫹12 ⫹8 ⫺2 ⫺7 ⫺7 ⫺10 ⫺10
Regular (Roth) mandible ⫺1 ⫺1 ⫺7 ⫺11 ⫺17 ⫺24 ⫺28
Medium (MBT) maxilla ⫹17 ⫹10 ⫺7 ⫺7 ⫺7 ⫺10 ⫺10
Medium (MBT) mandible ⫺6 ⫺6 ⫺7 ⫺11 ⫺17 ⫺24 ⫺10
High maxilla ⫹22 ⫹14 ⫹7 ⫺7 ⫺7 ⫺10 ⫺10
High mandible ⫺1 ⫺1 ⫹7 ⫺11 ⫺17 ⫺24 ⫺28

0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.025⬙ or 0.022⬙ ⫻ 0.028⬙. Parallel to Advantages of the SPEED Design

the main archwire slot is a horizontal 0.016⬙ ⫻
0.016⬙ auxiliary slot, which may house secondary
archwires or a variety of auxiliaries including
preformed hooks for elastics.6-8
A labial window is found in the face of the
spring clip, which greatly facilitates its opening.
A force of only 300 g is required to open the
spring clip using this method; this procedure is
easily performed by the clinician but not by the
patient. A mere 200 g is required to close the
spring clip and this is most commonly done with
a gloved finger. The light force required to both
open and close the SPEED appliance makes
archwire changes a very comfortable procedure
for patient and operator alike.
The SPEED appliance has numerous design fea-
tures, which ensure its optimal performance
during orthodontic treatment. A detailed out-
line of the benefits of its elegant design is be-
yond the scope of this article. Benefits for the
clinician include:
● Highly flexible nickel titanium spring clip pro-
vides precise 3-D tooth control,
● Minimal friction during sliding mechanics,
● Extended range of activation due to energy
stored in spring clip,
● Large interbracket span,
● Spring clip will not fatigue or plastically de-
form under normal treatment conditions,

Figure 3. The component parts of the SPEED appliance consist of a microretentive mesh bonding pad, an in-out
adapter, a bracket body that contains both an auxiliary slot for a 0.016⬙ ⫻ 0.016⬙ wire and a main edgewise
archwire slot, a superelastic nickel titanium spring clip, and a miniaturized integral mushroom hook for the use
of elastics. (Color version of figure is available online.)
 The SPEED Appliance 57

● Spring clip will not permit premature release

of the archwire,
● Brackets available from second molar to sec-
ond molar,
● Replaceable spring clip,
● Intimate bracket base fit with tooth surface,
and
● No special instruments required for place-
ment, opening, closing, or debonding.

Figure 4. The graph shows the unloading or deactivation

forces provided by different archwire materials and diam-
eters with 3 mm of activation. Supercable deactivates at very
low force levels. On average, Supercable exerts one-third of
the force of equal diameter round nickel titanium arch-
wire. (Color version of figure is available online.)
● Horizontal, auxiliary slot— enhances segmen-
tal mechanics, and
● Clinically proven for over 25 years.
Benefits for the patient include:
● Smooth, rounded, silhouette— easy for all pa-
tients to clean,
● Miniaturized, wingless design with low profile
improves patient comfort, and
● Esthetically appealing—polished appearance
with clean design lines.
In addition, there are the following miscella-
neous benefits:
● Easy to open— easy to close,
● Mushroom hooks available on all brackets,
Treatment Philosophy
When Using SPEED
As outlined originally by Dr. Hanson (Wood-
side DG and coworkers,1 Hanson GH,9 and
Hanson GH, personal communications), the
following treatment philosophy is recom-
mended:
● Try to treat without extractions in all cases that
appear to have the necessary potential;
● If treatment objectives cannot be accomplished
without extractions, extract second bicuspids to
minimize any tendency toward unattractive re-
duction in the prominence of the dentition;
● Use preliminary functional appliances to fa-
vorably alter jaw growth patterns wherever it is
desirable and feasible;
● Use intraoral distalization mechanics instead
of headgear when conditions permit;
● Expand arches that have failed to develop to
their full potential;
● Intrude upper anterior teeth in patients who
exhibit a lot of gingival tissue;

Figure 5. (A) Supercable consists of seven strands of superelastic nickel titanium wire in a coaxial form. It is
available in 0.016⬙, 0.018⬙, and 0.020⬙ dimensions. It is impossible to permanently deform Supercable regardless
of the malalignment of the dentition. (B) The combined effect of the initial light multistrand Supercable
archwire, the wide interbracket span between the narrow SPEED brackets, and the energy storing capability of
the spring clip greatly increases the range of appliance activation. (Color version of figure is available online.)
58 J.L. Berger

Figure 6. The Hills Dual-Geometry wire features a square anterior portion for torque control and a rounded
polished posterior to enhance sliding mechanics. (Color version of figure is available online.)

● Correct tooth rotations to ideal alignment with-
out any overcorrection and rely on interproxi-
mal reshaping and circumferential supra-crestal
fiberotomies to enhance retention; and
● Overcorrect Class II or Class III buccal seg-
ment relationships where a strong relapse ten-
dency is expected.
It has already been stated that the SPEED appli-
ance is most responsive to very light forces. The
use of light forces is both biologically and me-
chanically advantageous. From a biological
standpoint light force application decreases the
risk of occurrence of such undesirable phenom-
ena as root resorption.10 From a mechanical
standpoint, light force application reduces un-
desirable reaction forces, which can become so
large so as to complicate the simplicity of the
desired mechanics. With SPEED, one can work
within the physiologic limits of the supporting
tissues.11,12 Further, by giving adequate time for
each archwire to fully express itself, the role of
anchorage in the treatment mechanics is sig-
nificantly reduced. As a result, it is considered
that there is less need for an extraction pat-
tern in patients treated with SPEED brackets
relative to twin brackets. Exceptions include
extremely crowded cases or where other miti-
gating circumstances, such as soft tissue pro-
file or incisor angulation, mandate otherwise.
Not only is this nonextraction approach ad-
vantageous for the patient, but the orthodon-
tist benefits by having to spend less time man-

Figure 7. The SPEED finishing archwire has a quarter round shape, which facilitates archwire insertion, spring
closure, and is highly effective in torque control. (Color version of figure is available online.)
 The SPEED Appliance 59

Table 2. Suggested Archwire Progression

0.018⬙ Slot 0.022⬙ Slot

Level and align—severely crowded 0.016⬙ Supercable

cases
Initiate or continue to level and align
Develop arch form
Start torque and enhance arch form
Increase torque and arch form
Initiate sliding mechanics
Differential sliding mechanics
Artistic bends and final detailing
Final torque and arch form
0.018⬙ Supercable
0.016⬙ or 0.018⬙ nickel titanium 0.018⬙ or 0.020⬙ nickel titanium
0.016⬙ ⫻ 0.022⬙ nickel titanium 0.017⬙ ⫻ 0.022⬙ SPEED nickel
titanium
0.017⬙ ⫻ 0.022⬙ SPEED nickel 0.020⬙ ⫻ 0.025⬙ SPEED nickel
titanium titanium
0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.018⬙ Hills Dual-Geometry
0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.018⬙ Hills 0.021⬙ ⫻ 0.021⬙ ⫻ 0.020⬙ Hills
Dual-Geometry Dual-Geometry
0.017⬙ ⫻ 0.022⬙ TMA 0.019⬙ ⫻ 0.025⬙ TMA or Force 9
0.017⬙ ⫻ 0.022⬙ SPEED stainless 0.020⬙ ⫻ 0.025⬙ SPEED stainless
steel steel

aging the compensatory extraction mechanics
and more time managing the more predict-
able reaction to light forces.
Clinical Guidelines to Using SPEED
As outlined originally by Dr. Hanson (Woodside
DG and coworkers,1 Hanson GH,9 and Hanson
GH, personal communications), the following
clinical guidelines are recommended:
● Take great care to position the brackets and
tubes as accurately as possible during initial
bonding;
● If significant bracket placement errors be-
come apparent during the course of treat-
ment, it is better to rectify them by rebonding
rather than to continually compensate with
bends in the archwires;
● A meticulous bonding technique will pay worth-
while dividends later in terms of efficiency and
quality of treatment;
● Use very light forces and go easy on overcor-
rection. The customary anti-tip and anti-spin
provisions in conventional edgewise appli-
ances would be excessive if incorporated
into the SPEED technique;
● Because of the small area of bracket-arch con-
tact and the concentration of rotational con-
trol, it is easy to underestimate the effective-
ness of the appliance at first; and
● Use a light touch in manipulating the appli-
ance and avoid “forcing” any component.

Figure 8. (A-D) Space closure using maxillary 0.021⬙ ⫻ 0.021⬙ ⫻ 0.020⬙ and mandibular 0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.018⬙
Hills Dual-Geometry archwires, continuous elastomeric power chain, and intermaxillary 4 mm (3/16⬙) 4 ounce
elastics. Maxillary molars bonded with SPEED ER (enhanced retention) bracket. (E-H) Significant space closure
following 4 months of sliding mechanics. The dual arch dimension of the Hills wire greatly enhances posterior
space closure while maintaining anterior torque control. (Color version of figure is available online.)
60 J.L. Berger

Figure 9. Clinical Case with the SPEED Appliance. Non-extraction treatment of a 12y 7m old patient with a Class
III skeletal open-bite pattern, a steep mandibular plane angle and maxillary crowding (A-I). Initial bonding (J-N)
and placement of .016 maxillary and .018 mandibular Supercable arch wires. Arch alignment and maxillary
molar distalization mechanics (O1, P1) on .018 D-wire and addition of anterior compressed coil springs (O2,
P2). Segmental .016 Supercable arch wire to engage lateral incisor brackets (O3, P3) prior to alignment with
main arch wire (P4). Final detailing and torque control with .019 ⫻ .025 Force 9 arch wire (P5) before
completion of treatment (Q-Y). This case clearly illustrates how the SPEED appliance, with its precise 3-dimen-
sional control, may be utilized to effectively manage complex cases such as that of a growing patient with an
adverse skeletal growth pattern. (Color version of figure is available online.)
 The SPEED Appliance 61

Figure 9. Continued.
62 J.L. Berger
Archwires—Selection and Use
SPEED appliance design greatly simplifies and
enhances archwire selection and effectiveness.
SPEED’s wide interbracket span, predictably
light frictional drag, and full control with even
the most undersized archwires maximizes effi-
ciencies of tooth movement while ensuring ex-
cellence in finishing. Although SPEED’s edge-
wise slot will accommodate virtually any size or
configuration of archwire, experienced SPEED
users have found that the selected archwires out-
lined herein most fully exploit SPEED’s unique
benefits. These are recommended for best re-
sults and include Supercable (Figs 4 and 5A and
B), Hills Dual-Geometry (Fig 6), and SPEED
finishing archwires (Fig 7). Should a clinician
choose to use these archwires, they may be used
with either 0.018⬙ or 0.022⬙ slot size, in the man-
ner suggested in Table 2.
SPEED Supercable
SPEED Supercable is a superelastic nickel tita-
nium coaxial archwire consisting of seven
strands of wire wrapped with a “long pitch”
and is available in 0.016⬙, 0.018⬙, and 0.020⬙.
With one-third the force of a solid 0.016⬙
nickel titanium archwire13 it offers unmatched
low force levels (Fig 4). As an initial aligning
and leveling archwire, Supercable may be fully
engaged without plastic deformation due to its
unique construction and superelastic proper-
ties (Fig 5A and B). In such instances, the
supporting tissues experience near optimum
force levels, which translate into minimal, or no,
patient discomfort.
Hills Dual-Geometry Archwire
This archwire (Fig 6) has been designed to max-
imize sliding mechanics in the posterior seg-
ments via its round posterior portion while
maintaining anterior incisor crown torque with
its square anterior portion (Fig 8A-H). Made
from ultra-high tensile-strength stainless steel,
the Hills wire provides the stiffness needed to
prevent undesirable side effects during tooth
translation. The Hills wire is manufactured in
two sizes— 0.018⬙ ⫻ 0.018⬙ anterior with 0.018⬙
round posterior, and 0.021⬙ ⫻ 0.021⬙ anterior
with 0.020⬙ round posterior.
SPEED Finishing Archwires
The beveled labial-gingival shape of “SPEED”
finishing archwires encourages full expressi-
on of the interaction between the superelastic
spring clip, the archwire, and the archwire slot
(Fig 7). Any deviation of the bracket position
relative to the wire, results in deflection of the
spring clip, which stores appropriate energy
for recovery. This energy is gently released
through precise three-dimensional tooth posi-
tioning. In addition, this quarter round arch-
wire shape facilitates wire insertion and spring
clip closure. These wires are manufactured in
two sizes: 0.017⬙ ⫻ 0.022⬙ and 0.020⬙ ⫻ 0.025⬙
dimensions.
Clinical Case with the SPEED Appliance
Nonextraction treatment of a 12-year, 7-month-old
patient with a Class III skeletal openbite pattern, a
steep mandibular plane angle, and maxillary
crowding is shown (Fig 9A–Y). This case clearly
illustrates how the SPEED appliance, with its pre-
cise 3-dimensional control, may be used to effec-
tively manage complex cases such as that of a
growing patient with an adverse skeletal growth
pattern.
Summary
The SPEED appliance is the product of more
than 25 years of design refinement dating back
to its original invention by Dr. G. Herbert Han-
son in the early 1970s. Reflecting original design
goals, which included greater patient comfort,
decreased treatment time, and reduced opera-
tor time, SPEED has acted as a catalyst for the
recent emergence of similar and alternative self-
ligating designs. The highly miniaturized SPEED
appliance differs from other self-ligating brackets
by its light, continuous-acting nickel titanium
spring clip. This permits great precision and con-
trol of tooth movement, throughout treatment, in
an environment of predictably low friction.
Tables 1 and 2 provide information on torque
prescriptions available for the SPEED appliance
and also a suggested archwire progression for
treatment.
Acknowledgments
The author thanks Strite Industries Limited for their permis-
sion to reproduce some of the material used in this article.
 The SPEED Appliance
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