Influence of orthodontic archwire (nickel-titanium versus copper-nickel-titanium) on pain in adult patients in the aligning phase of treatment with self-ligating brackets (two months of follow-up): a prospective observational pilot study.

What Was Tested

This observational study looks at Copper (Supplement).

The aim of this pilot study was to analyze the influence of a nickel-titanium archwire (NiTi) and a copper-nickel-titanium archwire (Cu-NiTi) on pain levels in adult patients during the first two months of orthodontic treatment with self-ligating brackets.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 30 patients were involved.

PubMed indexes the participants as young adults and adults, both men and women.

This study analyzed 30 adult orthodontic patients who began treatment with self-ligating brackets.

The participants were distributed into two study groups (n = 15) for treatment with initial NiTi and Cu-NiTi archwires.

How the Study Was Run

The researchers set it up as a pilot study.

It is described as a pilot, a small early test of whether a larger Copper (Supplement) study would be practical.

This prospective observational pilot study was carried out at the Dental Clinic of the University of Salamanca between 2023 and 2024.

At the beginning, a 0.014-inch archwire was used, and a 0.016-inch archwire was used after a month.

The level of pain was measured using a visual analog scale (VAS) at the beginning of treatment (T0), at one month (T1), and at two months (T2).

At each time point (T0, T1, and T2), pain was measured at baseline and at 4, 24, and 48 h after archwire placement or replacement.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Pilot Projects, Titanium, Orthodontic Wires, Orthodontic Brackets, Copper, Nickel and Pain Measurement.

Author keywords: Archwire, Cu-NiTi, NiTi, Orthodontics, Self-ligating brackets and Visual analog scale.

What This Means in Plain Language

The paper is a pilot study of Copper (Supplement) in 30 patients.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

The abstract goes on to report its results in about 5 sentences; this page does not restate them, so read the paper for the findings and their limits.

The publication is from 2025 (Head & face medicine), a journal based in England.

More context: the Copper (Supplement) compound page, all human trials.