Protection from Protruding Lingual Archwires

Here is a method for preventing patient discomfort from the protruding distal ends of a lingual archwire. During the leveling and alignment phase:

1. After the archwire is placed intraorally, dispense a small amount of light-cured, unfilled bisGMA resin^* onto a Teflon-coated brass composite-filling instrument (Fig. A).

2. On each distal end of the archwire, shape the resin into a bead (Fig. B) and light-cure.

During retraction, the bead may contact the third molar as the archwire slides distally. Bending horizontal offsets in the wire distal to the second molar attachments is an option, but requires the use of convertible molar tubes. Alternatively, offsets can be bent intraorally using a Tweed loop-forming plier after the archwire is in place (Fig. C).