A ligature cutter is commonly used instead of a distal-end cutter to trim a short wire poke. This Pearl shows how to make an attachment from acrylic and beading wax to catch the trimmed wire pieces.
NEAL D. KRAVITZ, DMD, MS
Associate Editor for Pearls
A Modified Wire Cutter
Approximating the length of an archwire extraorally on a cast is not always precise, which means a short segment of wire may be left protruding from the distal end of the terminal molar bracket. If the wire is cut flush with the distal end of the molar tube using a heavy wire cutter, the cut piece tends to fly off and may go down the patient’s throat or cause soft-tissue injury. If a distal-end cutter is used to hold the cut piece with its safety mechanism, the archwire will not be flush with the tube.
This article describes how to modify a heavy wire cutter by attaching a safety mechanism to catch the cut wire.
Fabrication
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1. Affix a short piece of .040" stainless steel wire with wax at the center of the pivot joint on the posterior side of a heavy wire cutter (A).
2. Bend the wire so that it crosses the cutter above the joint (B) and ends on the anterior side, forming a retentive tag (C). Keep a 2mm clearance between the wire and the anterior surface of the plier.
3. Form an acrylic shield over the wire, corresponding to the contour of the hollow portion of the plier’s cutting edge on the anterior side (D).
4. Coat the inner concave surface of the acrylic shield with wax. The wax coating will hold the cut wire segment and thus prevent injury to the patient (E).
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DR. HATTARKI -
DR. BENZY
Dr. Hattarki is an Associate Professor and Dr. Benzy is a Postgraduate Student, Department of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics, KLE VK Institute of Dental Sciences, Belagavi 590010, India. E-mail: ann465@gmail.com.
