A comparative study of electroplating and electroless plating for diameter increase of orthodontic wire

Kim, Jae Nam; Cho, Jin Hyoung; Sung, Young Eun; Lee, Ki Heon; Hwang, Hyeon Shik

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate electroless plating as a method of increasing the diameter of an orthodontic wire in comparison with eletroplating. After pretreatment plating of the 0.016 inch stainless steel orthodontic wire, electroless plating was performed at 90 degrees C until the diameter of the wire was increased to 0.018 inch. During the process of electroless plating, the diameter of the wire was measured every 5 minutes to examine the increasing ratio of the wire' diameter per time unit. And to examine the uniformity, the diameter at 3 points on the electroless-plated orthodontic wire was measured. An X-ray diffraction test for analyzing the nature of the plated metal and a 3-point bending test for analyzing the physical property were performed. The electroless-plated wire group showed a increased tendency for stiffness, yield strength, and ultimate strength than the electroplated wire group. And there was a statistically significant difference between the two groups for stiffness and ultimate strength. In the electroless-plated wire group, the increasing ratio of the diameter was 0.00461 +/-.00003 mm/5 min (0.00092 mm/min). In the electroplated wire group, it was 0.00821 +/-.00015 mm/min. The results of the uniformity test showed a tendency for uniformity in both the plating methods. The results of this study suggest that electroless plating of the wire is closer to the ready-made wire than electroplating wire in terms of the physical property. However, the length of plating time needs further consideration for the clinical application of electroless plating.