Taken from the JCO 1979 Oct (676-683): Common Sense Mechanics: Part 2 --------------------------------

Common Sense Mechanics 2

THOMAS F. MULLIGAN, DDS
Forces and Moments
We all know what a force is, but
sometimes we tend to confuse the
relationship between force and
moment.
Both
are
extremely
important to us as they produce the
movements we seek, as well as those
we consider undesirable. Simply
stated, a force is nothing more than a
"push" or "pull," and acts in a straight
line (Fig. 15). Whenever this line of
force passes through the center of a
body in orthodontics we refer to the
Center of Resistance there is no
moment produced and therefore no
rotational tendency (Fig. 16A). When a
force acts away from the center, a
moment is produced and a rotational
tendency occurs (Fig. 16B).
A moment is the product of force
times distance. If the line of force does
not pass through the center of
resistance of the tooth, then there is a
distance between this line of force and
the center. It is the perpendicular
distance from this line of force to the
center that causes the moment on the
tooth,
resulting
in
rotational
tendencies (Fig. 17). Although I don't
care to use numbers or specific
magnitudes in tooth movement, the
magnitude of the moment is
determined by this force times the
perpendicular distance to the center.
We could double the force and cut the
distance in half, or double the distance
and cut the force in half, and in both
cases we would produce the same
moment or rotational tendency (Fig.
18).
What does all of this mean? First of all,
the orthodontist cannot think of forces
and torques (moments) as being the

same. You can "sense" a force when

you bend a wire, but you cannot
"sense" torque. Because the latter is
simply a product of force times
distance, as previously discussed, the
distance (length) is just as effective as
the force. If the force passes through
the center of resistance, no
perpendicular distance is involved.
Therefore,
regardless
of
the
magnitude of the force, there is no
moment (Fig. 19). Force times zero
distance always equals zero. We might
use a lot of force and produce no
moment or a small moment, while a
small force might produce a large
moment due to the distance involved
(Fig. 20). So, beginning right now, it is
important to get used to treating the
two as separate entities. One is a
product of the other. Because all of
this is going to become essential, later,
when we discuss differential torque
for anchorage and non-anchorage
problems, and because ultimately you
will see that the clinical application is
simple, fast, and easy to understand, it
is critical that the groundwork be laid
beforehand.
I am going to go through a step-bystep discussion of what I have, over
the years, referred to as the "Cue Ball
Concept." If we can think of things in a
way that relates to some of our
personal experiences in life, I think you
will find it much easier to understand
and ultimately apply. After all, if it
cannot be applied, then this is strictly
academic and a waste of your valuable
time.
Cue Ball Concept
Anyone who has had the experience of
playing pool has held a cue stick and
applied a force on the cue ball.
Experience taught the individual
where to strike the cue ball in order to

produce a given response. If we

desired English, we applied a force off
center (Fig. 21). We produced left or
right English at will, simply by deciding
to apply the force to either the left or
right side of center on the cue ball.
If we only wished to "translate" the
cue ball move it in a straight line
with no left or right English we
applied the force right through the
middle of the cue ball (Fig. 22). By the
way, with a tooth we use the term
Center of Resistance, whereas, in a
free body we use the term Center of
Mass. Obviously the ball rotated or
rolled forward due to the friction of
the table, but the response was
predictable. A force applied through
the center resulted in straight line
movement with no left or right English
(moment). Since we know from
experience, therefore, how to predict
a response based on the point of force
application, let us take a step-by-step
look at the reasons behind this
predictability.
Translation
Again, if we apply a force through the
center of the cue ball, it will move
forward in a straight line (Fig. 23).
Unlike the tooth, this is a free body
with a set of rules we will discuss.
Whenever a force passes through the
center of such a body, the body will
translate. There will be no rotation
other than the forward roll due to the
friction of the table itself. The reason
there is no rotation (moment) is that
the line of force has no perpendicular
distance to the center; the force is
passing through the center. So, we can
make the statement that a force acting
through-the center of such a body
produces translation without rotation.
This is a predictable response based on
a known point of force application.

Rotation and Translation

If we take exactly the same force and
apply it on the same body, but instead
of applying it through the center,
apply it off center, then we create a
situation where the line of force has a
perpendicular distance from the
"Center of Mass" (a free body
expression). This means that we now
produce not only translation, but also
rotation, as a result of the moment
produced (Fig. 21). As we know from
experience, this is exactly what
happens when we decide to strike a
cue ball to the left or right of center. A
force applied on a body, but not
through the center of that body,
results in translation and rotation.
Pure Rotation (Couple)
Although when we play pool, we do
not apply two forces on a cue ball at
the same time, we could do it to prove
a point. If we were to apply two forces
on the cue ball, equal and opposite, in
the same plane of space, the ball
would not translate in any direction.
Instead, it would simply maintain its
position and "spin" (rotate) (Fig. 24).
The reason for this is that the two
forces cancel each other out, but leave
a net moment (rotation) due to the
fact that each of these "Lines of Force"
acts at a perpendicular distance from
the center of the ball. Now that we
have "played" the game of pool
together, I hope we can see the
reasoning behind our experiences and
from this learn that it is possible to
predict a response based on a known
point of force application.
Forces and Moments Acting on Teeth
With some of these basics behind us,
let us take a look at tooth movement
when we attempt to accomplish more
than one type of tooth movement at a

time. In the previous material, it was

shown how the force and direction can
be determined by whether the bend is
in the center or off center. Therefore,
if we use a tipback bend for overbite
correction, as is done in a number of
techniques today, we can certainly
recognize that when the short
segments are placed into the molar
tubes, the long segments, prior to
bracket engagement, lie in the mucolabial fold (Fig. 25A). From this we can
see that the long segment points
apically in the incisor area and
therefore indicates an incisor intrusive
force while the molars have an
extrusive force present.
But, there is more to it than just these
forces. What about the moments?
When the wire is brought down from
the mucolabial fold for insertion into
the incisor brackets (Fig. 25B), the
force required acts at a perpendicular
distance from the center of resistance
in the molar (Fig. 25C), thus producing
mesial root torque or distal crown
thrust on each of the molars involved.
When the wire is engaged into the
incisor brackets, the intrusive force
acts in a straight line and usually
passes labial to the center of
resistance in the incisors (Fig. 26). This
produces a smaller moment that on
the molar, because in spite of the fact
the forces are equal, the distances
involved are radically different.
So, when the archwire is tied into
place and tied back at the molar tubes,
we have significantly different
(relatively) magnitudes of torque (Fig.
27) which we can refer to as
"differential torque". If we do not tie
the archwire to the molar tubes, and if
friction does not accomplish the same
by causing binding at the tubes, the
anterior and posterior moments may
be
permitted
to
respond

independently of each other. If tied

back, the system behaves as a whole,
and the "tug of war" is apparent with
the molar having the obvious
mechanical advantage with the larger
moment. The clinical applications of
differential torque will be discussed
later .
Thus far, we see a force system as
illustrated in Figure 28. But, again, that
is not all that is taking place. Let us
take a look at a distal view of the
molar teeth and keep the cue ball
concept in mind (Fig. 29). If the wire is
round, instead of rectangular, and
permitted to "roll" inside the tubes,
the extrusive force present on the
molar teeth then acts at the molar
tubes which lie, usually, buccally to the
center of resistance in these teeth.
This force times distance results in
molar lingual crown torque. So we can
begin to see that such torque is not
necessarily dependent on the use of
rectangular wire. Torque is simply a
product of force times distance and
does not recognize the type of wire
involved. Incidentally, if a wire were
very rigidly attached to the tubes, the
applied force would pass lingual to the
center of resistance, thereby inducing
buccal crown torque instead .
When one observes an effect, he
should be able to interpret the cause
and vice versa. We should also begin
to recognize that such force systems
should not be routinely considered as
undesirable side effects except for the
orthodontist who is unaware of their
presence and therefore is not
prepared to prevent undesirable
effects as well as to utilize the systems
effectively when indicated. If lingual
crown torque is desired, it should be
permitted to act. If undesirable, it can
be prevented with a lingual arch, a

rectangular wire, or whatever means

the operator chooses.
So, looking at the force system, thus
far, we recognize molar extrusive
forces, incisor intrusive forces, molar
mesial root torque significantly
(relatively) larger than the incisor
lingual root torque, and molar lingual
crown torque. Does this seem
complicated? It might for anyone used
to concentrating only on the single
force or moment desired, but the
entire system exists, whether we like it
or not not just the portion with
which we are concerned. In any case,
awareness of the entire system will
afford us many exciting opportunities
as we will see later. We will discover
that there are means available for
utilizing parts of the system while
overcoming other parts, because we
will be dealing with such matters as
forces of occlusion, cusp heights, wire
size and lengths, etc., whereby we can
learn to control force magnitudes so
that although an extrusive component
of force might be present on a molar
and considered to be undesirable, it
can be prevented from acting and
therefore not become a threat. Force
systems will always be present, but
not all phases will be permitted to
respond.
Lingual Root Torque
Now, after all of the previous
discussion which involved a tipback
bend, we are able to become
reasonably familiar with the force
system involved. Let us take a look at
other bends in the same archwire that
begin to affect the force system. If we
place lingual root torque into the
incisor section, we produce a long
segment and a short segment (Fig. 30),
just as was the case with the tipback
bend. The long segment indicates a
molar intrusive force and therefore an

extrusive force on the incisors. We can

also see that the torque produced on
the incisors is a result of force times
distance, since the long segment has
to be brought down to the molar tube,
and the force required to bring it down
acts at a perpendicular distance to the
incisors (Fig. 31). If the long segments
from the tipback bends maintain the
same angular relationship as the long
segments from the incisor torque
bend, the vertical forces cancel each
other and only moments remain.
Therefore, no overbite correction may
occur even though we might expect it.
The anterior lingual root torque
introduces a vertical component of
force that must be considered .
If the long segments just discussed are
unequal in angular relationship, then
the one producing the greater angle
relative to the level of the archwire
will determine the net force present.
For example, if lingual root torque
produces the greater angle as shown
in Figure 32, the net forces will be
intrusive on the molar and extrusive
on the incisor. Therefore, if we are
hoping for overbite correction, but
increased our lingual root torque to
this point, we can expect our overbite
to increase instead of decreasing. So,
we might decide, if we know this
beforehand, to either increase the
molar tipback bend, decrease the
amount of lingual root torque on the
incisor segment, or a combination of
each, in order to assure ourselves of a
net intrusive force on the incisor
segment for overbite correction.
Recognition of the problems and
intelligent decision making will only
follow a thorough understanding of
the underlying principles.
(TO BE CONTINUED)

Fig. 26 The
intrusive force
acting through
the incisor
bracket usually
lies labial to the
center of
resistance, thus
producing a
moment, but
smaller than
the one on the
molar.