Although evident advances have certainly been made, not only in the use of brackets, but also in the mechanics and type of wires and accessories employed, the most recent systematic review of the literature on this topic stated despite claims regarding the clinical superiority of self-ligating brackets, evidence is generally lacking. Thus, the aim of this study was to show, by means of four clinical case reports, that conventional brackets, used in conjunction with relatively recently introduced thermal nickeltitanium archwires of reduced diameter and extremely light nickel-titanium springs, give results comparable with those achieved via the use of self-ligating brackets. © 2012 CEO.