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David B. Kennedy, BDS, MSD, FRCD(C)

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

Similar articles from the archive:

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).

  • ROHAN S.
    DR. HATTARKI
  • ANN
    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.

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Fig. 1A Case 1. A. 7½-year-old male patient with anterior crossbite and forward mandibular shift before treatment (continued in next image).
Fig. 1B (cont.) Case 1. B. Anterior crossbite corrected after nine months of treatment with removable maxillary appliance; mandibular incisors show spontaneous improvement in alignment.
Fig. 2 Case 2. A. 8-year-old patient with maxillary lateral incisor crossbite. B. Space created by expansion with removable maxillary appliance. C. Crossbite corrected after nine months of treatment.
Fig. 3 Case 3. A. 9-year-old patient with crossbite before treatment. B. Two years later, showing improvement in gingival retreat after crossbite correction (six months of active treatment). Deciduous canines extracted to relieve crowding; no retention needed.
Fig. 4 Case 4. 8½-year-old female patient with unilateral left posterior crossbite, mandible shifted to crossbite side, and chin and mandibular dental midlines deflected to left before treatment. Crossbite side shows Class II tendency.
Fig. 5 Case 4. After Phase I treatment involving four months of slow maxillary expansion with fixed Hyrax* expander, followed by six months of retention with same passive appliance. Left Class II tendency improved, with chin and midlines corrected and mandibular shift eliminated.
Fig. 6 Case 5. A. 11½-year-old patient with bilateral ectopic maxillary canines, missing maxillary right lateral incisor, and small left lateral incisor before extraction of maxillary deciduous canines. Late eruption for chronological age is common with ectopic teeth. B. One year later, positions of maxillary permanent canines improved after extraction of deciduous canines.
Fig. 7A Case 6. A. 9-year-old female patient with Class I malocclusion, mild mandibular crowding, and early loss of mandibular right second deciduous molar before treatment (continued in next image).
Fig. 7B (cont.) Case 6. B. After 15 months of treatment, with mandibular lingual arch in place.
Fig. 8A Case 6. A. Patient at age 12, showing mandibular premolar rotations prior to start of Phase II. Lingual arch removed previously, after second molar eruption (continued in next image).
Fig. 8B (cont.) Case 6. B. After 18 months of Phase II treatment with fixed appliances.
Fig. 9 Case 7. A. 9-year-old female Class I patient with mixed-dentition crowding before treatment. B. Panoramic radiograph taken 18 months earlier, before extraction of deciduous canines. C. Two years later, prior to first premolar extractions.
Fig. 10 Case 7. A. Patient at age 13, after extraction of first premolars, showing Class I relationship with poor interdigitation, but canines erupting into attached gingiva. B. After premolar extractions and drifting of teeth. Note tipping of teeth adjacent to mandibular extractions and difference between mandibular anterior and posterior occlusal planes, with deepening curve of Spee.
Fig. 11 Case 7. A. Two years later, after Phase II treatment with fixed appliances. Panoramic radiograph shows good root parallelism. B. Super­imposition of pre- and post-treatment cephalometric tracings. Note excellent incisor torque and positioning.
Fig. 12 Mixed-dentition maxillary Hawley retainer with Adams clasps on first molars, spurs to control incisors, and labial bow soldered to Adams clasps; acrylic cleared away from premolars and canines.

DR. ROHAN S. HATTARKI BDS, MDS

DR. ROHAN S. HATTARKI BDS, MDS

DR. ANN BENZY BDS

DR. ANN BENZY BDS

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