Tensile bond strength of stainless steel orthodontic brackets on microabraded teeth

Abstract

Microabrasion with PREMA Compound (Premier Dental Product Co., King of Prussia, Penn.) has been advocated for the removal of superficial enamel stains. This procedure eliminates stains by removing a microscopic layer of enamel. The objective of this study was to determine whether the use of PREMA microabrasion prior to orthodontic bonding affects the tensile bond strength of an adhesive precoated stainless steel orthodontic bracket. Sixty noncarious extracted human premolar teeth were randomly divided into three groups of 20 and stored in 3-percent buffered formalin solution. Group I was a control group that was etched and bonded in the usual manner. Group II received PREMA Compound microabrasion immediately prior to bonding. Group III received PREMA microabrasion followed by a six-week storage period prior to bonding. After bonding, specimens were thermocycled and stored in distilled water at 37 °C for 14 days. The specimens were then loaded to failure in the tensile mode of an Instron testing machine (Instron Corp., Canton, Mass.). A stress-breaking apparatus was utilized to minimize all forces other than tensile. The data was statistically analyzed using one-way analysis of variance at the 0.05 level. No statistically significant differences were found among the three groups. From these results it was concluded that microabrasion with PREMA did not affect bond strength. Enamel microabrasion can be provided prior to orthodontic treatment without any detriment to bracket bond strength.