Frequency of Bracket Breakage & Bond Failure in Patients, Undergoing Fixed Orthodontic Treatment at Khyber College of Dentistry, Peshawar

The aim of this cross sectional study was to investigate the prevalence of bracket breakage and bond failure amongst orthodontic patients. One hundred and eighty nine patients (78 male & 111 female) undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment at the Department of Orthodontics at Khyber College of Dentistry were included in the study. The patients were divided into two groups namely teens (ages 13-19 years) and adults (ages 20-30 years). In this study, 89 patients had skeletal class I, 87 Class II and 13 patients skeletal Class III malocclusions. All patients were bonded with Transbond XT (3M unitek) light cured dental adhesive system. The bond failure was noted after 4 weeks. The results demonstrated more maxillary dentition bracket breakage as compared to the mandibular dentition. Both genders demonstrated greater upper buccal segment bracket breakage followed by the lower buccal segment, with females having higher failure rate as compared to males. Furthermore, the younger age group demonstrated greater breakage compared to the older age group (P> .05). Bracket breakage is inevitable during orthodontic treatment and its frequency varies with age, gender, location and skeletal class.