The range of applications for SMAs has grown over the years, a major area of development being dentistry. One example is the prevalence of dental braces using SMA technology to exert constant tooth-moving forces on the teeth; the nitinol archwire was developed in 1972 by orthodontist George Andreasen. This revolutionized clinical orthodontics. Andreasen's alloy has a patterned shape memory, expanding and contracting within given temperature ranges because of its geometric programming.
Harmeet D. Walia later utilized the alloy in the manufacture of root canal files for endodontics.