BMT (STEP)-brackets värden

STEP- Optimising a well known technique

   Drs. Arturo Fortini, Massimo Lupoli

Reissue from Bollettino International Edition no. 2 with kind permission of LEONE s.p.a. - orthodontic products.

For almost 20 years, we have been using the straight Wire Technique, invented and developed in the mid-70s by Dr. Lawrence Andrews. With time, the biomechanical properties characterising each individual bracket underwent some changes. This asks for a careful review of the problems related to the control of dental movement during the clinical use of the brackets.

The most important changes were first introduced by Dr. Roth, then by Drs Bennett and McLaughlin. Their prescriptions constitute the base for modern methods coming from the original technique. Our ten-year relationship with Dr. Richard McLaughlin has inspired our treatment approach enabling us to work closely with him at LEONE carrying out studies on the efficiency of different brackets on our patients who do not match the North American ethnic standard used as a base for many other studies. Along with the R&D department at Leone, we developed a new set of preformed brackets, first during the design and biomechanical analysis steps, then - and just as important - during the clinical evaluation phase.

This way, we seized the opportunity to advise some significant changes in the design and technique, in order to solve some biomechanical problems we met during our many years of clinical practice.