Iran J Ortho. 2015 December; 10(2):e4988. doi: 10.

17795/ijo-4988
Published online 2015 December 29. Research Article

Effect of Loop Geometry on Horizontal Forces of Vertical Loops: A Finite

Element Analysis
1 2,*
Hasan Salehi, and Sepide Arab
1Orthodontist, Private Practice, Boushehr, IR Iran
2Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, IR Iran

*Corresponding author: Sepideh Arab, Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Qazvin, IR Iran. E-mail: arabs@razi.tums.ac.ir

Received 2015 October 26; Accepted 2015 December 4.

Abstract
Background: Alignment of the teeth as the first stage of comprehensive orthodontic treatment has widely been addressed. Several
methods such as using super elastic arch wires, multi-strand wires and incorporation of various loops into the round stainless steel wires
have been suggested in this stage.
Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the horizontal forces produced by six various loop designs in different
amounts of activation using the finite element method.
Materials and Methods:The Finite Element Model (FEM) was used to design and compare the horizontal forces of round 0.014 inches
stainless steel vertical open loop, vertical closed loop, vertical helical open loop, vertical helical closed loop, plain vertical loop and the
squash loop. The forces were measured at 0.1, 0.4, 0.8 and 1mm activations.
Results: For all activations, vertical open loop had the highest horizontal force; while vertical helical closed loop showed the lowest force.
Conclusions: The design of vertical loops influences the horizontal force in all activations, immensely.

Keywords: Loop Design, Force, Finite Element Method

1. Background
Alignment of the teeth as the first stage of comprehen-
sive orthodontic treatment has widely been addressed.
Several methods such as using super elastic arch wires,
multi-strand wires and incorporation of various loops
2. Objectives
Regarding the benefits of applying loops in round stain-
less steel wires, the aim of this study was to simulate and
compare the horizontal forces of six different types of
commonly used vertical loops.

3. Materials and Methods

into the round stainless steel wires have been suggested
in this stage. Despite all undeniable advantages of super
elastic arch wires, travelling of these wires especially
those with smaller diameters in patients whose jaw func-
tion is often unilaterally would be annoying (1). Although
straight wire system has far facilitated orthodontic
treatment by decreasing the need for wire bending, the
sliding and friction which is inevitable in pre-adjusted
bracket systems could somewhat be troublesome by ad-
versely affecting the occlusal plan (2). Therefore, applying
loops into the arch wires especially in cases of asymmet-
ric crowding is still useful. In addition, in order to resolve
some less severe but still extraction case crowdings, ac-
tivation of drag loops can mildly distalize canines along
with relieving the anterior crowding without friction, at
a time (3). Furthermore, loops are also beneficial in the
finishing stage. In contrast to v-bends used in the final
detailing, loops take the advantage of the frictionless and
more predictable mechanic (4-6).
Six 3D computer models of vertical loops were de-
signed in SolidWorks 2006 (SolidWorks, Concord, Mas-
sachusetts, USA). Loops were designed in a way that they
are encircled in an 8×8 mm2 rectangle. The wire cross
section was 0.014 Inch (diameter = 0.35 mm). The 3D
models were designed symmetric in form. The models
were transferred to the ANSYS Workbench Version 12.1
(Ansys Inc., Southpointe, Canonsburg, PA, USA). Bound-
ary conditions restricted displacements of the nodes at
one extreme of the loops to prevent rigid body motion.
Stainless Steel was the material of the loop (the Young’s
modulus = 177000; Posson’s ratio = 0.3) were then applied
and the models were meshed between 10026 and 22729
nodes and 5377 and 12345 elements (Figure 1).
The loops were then stretched 0.1, 0.4, 0.8, 1.0 mm in the
horizontal axis. The force produced in the direction of
the loop was then evaluated.

Copyright © 2015, Iranian Journal of Orthodontics. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial
4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits copy and redistribute the material just in noncommercial usages, pro-
vided the original work is properly cited.
 Salehi H et al.

4. Results
The results of the present study revealed that in 0.1 mm,
0.4 mm, 0.8 mm and 1 mm activations, vertical open loop
gave the highest amount of force (between 0.3 to 3 N). The
second highest force was shown by the plain vertical loop
(between 0.29 to 2.95 N), followed by squash loop (be-
tween 0.27 to 2.77 N), vertical helical open loop (between
0.19 to 1.99 N) and closed vertical loop (0.12 to 1.24 N). Ver-
tical helical closed Loop had the lowest amount of force
in all activations. Forces of each loop design in the four
different activations are shown in Table 1 and Figure 2.

Figure 1. Stainless Steel Model

A, Plain vertical loop; B, squash loop; C, vertical closed loop; D, vertical helical closed loop; E, vertical helical, open loop; F, vertical open loop.

Table 1. Horizontal Force Produced by Various Loop Designs in Different Amounts of Activationa
Horizontal Force (N) Loop Design
Vertical Open Vertical Closed Vertical Helical Vertical Helical Squash Loop Plain Vertical
Loop Loop Open Loop Closed loop Loop
Activation, mm
0.1 0.31015 0.19018 0.19929 0.12436 0.27725 0.29557
0.4 1.2406 0.76072 0.76717 0.49757 1.109 1.1823
0.8 2.4812 1.5214 1.5943 0.9949 2.218 2.3645
1 3.1015 1.9018 1.9929 1.2436 2.7725 2.9557
aData are presented as Newton (N).

2 Iran J Ortho. 2015;10(2):e4988

 Salehi H et al.
5.1. Conclusion
Addition of helices into the wire structure in combi-
nation with designing the loop as it activates by closing
is capable of creating loops which exert very light orth-
odontic forces.
References
1.
2.
Figure 2. Force Production of Various Loops in Different Activations 3.
5. Discussion
4.
This study was performed using the finite element 5.
method. Although even this method has some limita-
tions regarding the timing of movement and plastic
deformations of loops, it is an advantageous precise 6.
method for simulation and investigation of orthodontic
structures and mechanics (7-10). Results of the present
7.
study showed that vertical helical closed loop has the
lightest horizontal force. Since light orthodontic forces
take the advantage of shortening the time of tooth move-
ment, preserving the anchorage and decreasing the 8.
possibility of injuring teeth and damaging periodontal
structures, orthodontic active components which exert
lighter forces are preferred (11-14). The most important 9.
factors affecting the springiness of closing loops are the
diameter of the wire, the material composition of the
wire, the inter-bracket distance, and the amount of wire 10.
added into the loop (1). Considering the fact that the lon-
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11.
soft tissue impingement, we used 8mm long loops model
in the present study. One simple effective way of enhanc-
ing springiness via increasing the amount of wire is in-
corporating helices into the wire structure. Regarding
12.
the results of the present study, incorporation of a single
helix into a vertical loop reduced the horizontal force
down to two thirds in all activations. Results of the pres-
ent study are close and comparable to Booth’s study who
revealed the same sequence of horizontal force from the 13.
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loops which are activated by closing rather than opening
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points out that if wires are activated in the direction iden- 14.
tical to their original bending direction, they will have
higher maximal elastic load (16). Regarding the results of
15.
the present study, loops activated by closing also take the
advantage of exerting lighter forces which makes them 16.
greatly appropriate for clinical procedures.
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