Elastic Chains & Hooks
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About elastic chains & hooks
An elastic chain is a run of linked elastomeric rings, used to pull teeth rather than to tie a wire into one bracket. Chains come in three main forms, closed or continuous, open or short, and long or broad, and in colours such as transparent and black. They were developed to give light continuous forces for moving a canine back, closing a gap, closing space within the arch and correcting rotated teeth. Force decay is their main limitation: studies suggest a chain can lose 50 to 75 percent of its original force within the first 24 hours of use.
A chain pulls teeth towards each other along the wire; a tie only holds the wire in one bracket. In a five-week study, closed chains held higher forces than open ones across all the brands tested.
Sources: Force decay of orthodontic power chains during five weeks in artificial saliva, 2025 (J Orthod Sci) · Virdi et al. 2024, Force Decay Behavior of Orthodontic Elastomeric Chains in Simulated Oral Conditions (Cureus)