Debonding forces of three different customized bases of a lingual bracket system

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to investigate whether extension of the custom base is necessary for enhancement of bond strength, by comparing the debonding forces and residual adhesives of 3 different lingual bracket systems. METHODS A total of 42 extracted upper premolars were randomly divided into 3 groups of 14 each for bonding with brackets having (1) a conventional limited resin custom base; (2) an extended gold alloy custom base: Incognito™; and (3) an extended resin custom base: KommonBase™. The bonding area was measured by scanning the bracket bases with a 3-dimensional digital scanner. The debonding force was measured with an Instron universal testing machine, which applied an occlusogingival shear force. RESULTS The mean debonding forces were 60.83 N (standard deviation [SD] 10.12), 69.29 N (SD 9.59), and 104.35 N (SD17.84) for the limited resin custom base, extended gold alloy custom base, and extended resin custom base, respectively. The debonding force observed with the extended resin custom base was significantly different from that observed with the other bases. In addition, the adhesive remnant index was significantly higher with the extended gold alloy custom base. CONCLUSIONS All 3 custom-base lingual brackets can withstand occlusal and orthodontic forces. We conclude that effective bonding of lingual brackets can be obtained without extension of the custom base.