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Clinical Innovation

A Simplified Method for Fabricating Customized Arch Form

Chandra Sekhar Gandikota1, Nemani Shivaram2, Syed Amaan Husain3

Prof. and Head, 2Senior

1
Customized and prefabricated arch forms are the two basic types of arch forms

Abstract
Lecturer, 3PG Student
which determine the outcome of orthodontic treatment. With the introduction of
Department of
1,2,3 preadjusted edgewise appliance, customized arch forms were rapidly replaced by
Orthodontics and Dentofacial prefabricated archwires. Although the former was more suitable for a particular
Orthopedics, Panineeya patient, they were time‑consuming in making and required a lot of chair‑side
Institute of Dental Sciences time. The present paper describes a single jig which makes the fabrication of one
and Research Centre,
Hyderabad, Telangana, India
such arch form (Bonwill Hawley) for any number of patients with different arch
dimensions easy and less cumbersome.

Received: 29-12-2017 Keywords: Bonwill–Hawley arch forms, Customized arch forms, Individualized
Accepted: 25-06-2018 Treatment Plan

Introduction The sum of mesiodistal widths of incisors, canine with

T he dental arch form represents a morphologic
pattern of each which is controlled by the
underlying basal bone and balance between circumoral
and intraoral muscles.[1,2] As the pre-adjusted edgewise
appliances were introduced, many orthodontists turned
a blind eye toward individualized arch forms which
lead to the popularity of pre-fabricated archwires. These
archwires were accounted for the tipping combined
with extrusion, undesirable expansion of the teeth
beyond their centered position over basal bone which
may lead to relapse and have periodontal implications
in the long run.[3] Hence, individualized arch forms
although uncommon, still hold a superior stand over
preformed archwires. There have been various types of
individualized arch forms till date; however, due to the
arduous procedure, they were disregarded expeditiously.
One such arch form is the Bonwill–Hawley arch form.
The objective of this paper is to introduce a simplified
method of constructing Bonwill–Hawley arch form
using a customized jig.
an additional 3 mm form the radius of the smaller circle
which is the initial step in making an arch form.
The minimum and the maximum ranges of the widths
of maxillary anterior teeth are taken [Table 1].[4] The
Bonwill–Hawley arch forms for the various dimensions
of the teeth were drawn in a single template. A line
is drawn from the center of the arch (Point A) to the
points where the curved part of each arch contacts
the posterior straight line on both sides. Lines from
the Point A, posterior straight segments of the
innermost arch and a line at the base of arch forms,
a quadrilateral which constitutes the shape of the Jig
used in this study. The jig is made with the dimensions
of arch form with the mesiodistal widths of anterior
teeth as 15 mm.
Two straight wires are attached to jig on Lines a, b to
which a distractor is attached. As the two arms of the
distractor move, the framework moves along the axis
of line a, b. The device was then calibrated; the amount

Design and Fabrication Address for correspondence: Dr. Nemani Shivaram,

The Bonwill–Hawley arch form in the incisor region 17‑127/15/1, Sri Raghavendra Nagar Colony, Survey of India,
Uppal, Hyderabad ‑ 500 039, Telangana, India.
follows the contour of a circle with the radius equal E‑mail: src_nemani@yahoo.com
to the sum of mesiodistal widths of the anterior teeth
and from cuspid to molar, it follows a straight line.
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DOI: How to cite this article: Gandikota CS, Shivaram N, Husain SA. A simplified
10.4103/jios.jios_266_17 method for fabricating customized arch form. J Indian Orthod Soc
2019;53:87-9.

© 2019 Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society | Published by Wolters Kluwer ‑ Medknow 87

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Gandikota, et al.: A practical guide to customized arch forms

of separation between the distractor arms and the
corresponding arch forms was noted [Table 1].
The posterior segments of each arch form are
drawn from the jig. The anterior curved arch is
drawn by the scribing an arc from both initial
points of the posterior segments using the radius
of the smaller circle [Table 1]. The two arcs meet
in the center from which a semicircle is drawn to
join both posterior segments; thus, forming the
complete arch form. A Bonwill–Hawley arch for the
anterior teeth mesiodistal width of 17 mm using the
jig is drawn in this study [Figure 1].
Observation
Different arch forms of mesiodistal width 15 mm and
21 mm were made using the Jig and compared with the
manually made Bonwill–Hawley arch forms of the same
dimensions by superimposition [Figure 2]. The two
arches formed manually and from the jig were equal and
showed complete overlapping.

a b c

d e f

g h
Figure 1: (a) The separation between the two arms is 5 mm indicating the (M‑D) of the teeth being 17 mm. (b and c) The posterior segments constructed
with the jig. (d‑f) The anterior arc and the arcs being scribed with a radius of 20 mm. (g and h) Anterior arc being formed with radius of 20 mm

a b
d e

c f

Figure 2: (a) Bonwill–Hawley arch drawn using the traditional method for the mesiodistal width of 15 mm. (b) Bonwill–Hawley arch drawn
using the jig for mesiodistal width of 15 mm. (c) Superimposition of the two arch forms. (d) Bonwill–Hawley arch drawn using the traditional
method for mesiodistal width of 21 mm. (e) Bonwill–Hawley arch drawn using the jig for mesiodistal width of 21 mm. (f) Superimposition of
the two arch forms

88 Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society  ¦  Volume 53  ¦  Issue 1  ¦  January-March 2019

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Gandikota, et al.: A practical guide to customized arch forms

Table 1: Amount of separation between the distractor ease. There is no need to fabricate Bonwill–Hawley
arms for each arch form arch diagram for every patient
Mesiodistal Radius for Distance between the 2. Requires less time and effort
widths of the anterior screw heads of the 3. No special operative skills are required.
central, lateral, arc (radius of the distractor (mm)
and distal smaller circle in the Financial support and sponsorship
3rd of canine Bonwill‑Hawley Nil.
bracket (mm) arch) (mm)
15 18 1 Conflicts of interest
16 19 3 There are no conflicts of interest.
17 20 5
18 21 7 References
19 22 9 1. Braun S, Bluestein M. A new concept: Impulse in orthodontics.
20 23 11 Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop 1997;111:437‑40.
21 24 13 2. White LW. Individualized ideal arches. J Clin Orthod 1978;12:779‑87.
22 25 15 3. Weaver KE, Tremont TJ, Ngan P, Fields H Dischinger T,
23 26 17 Martin C, et al. Changes in dental and basal arch forms with
preformedand customized archwires during orthodontic
treatment. Orthod Waves 2012;71:45‑50.
Advantages 4. Santoro M, Ayoub ME, Pardi VA, Cangialosi TJ. Mesiodistal
1. Archwires of different dimensions for different crown dimensions and tooth size discrepancy of the permanent
patients with the same jig can be fabricated with dentition of Dominican Americans. Angle Orthod 2000;70:303‑7.

Journal of Indian Orthodontic Society  ¦  Volume 53  ¦  Issue 1  ¦  January-March 2019 89