Influence of Water Storage and Bonding Material on Bond Strength of Metallic Brackets to Ceramic.

This study investigated the influence of water storage (24 h and 6 months), and Transbond XT and Fuji Ortho LC bonding materials on the bond strength of metallic brackets bonded to feldspathic ceramic. Four cylinders of feldspathic ceramic were etched with 10% hydrofluoric acid for 60 s. Each cylinder received two layers of silane. Metallic brackets were bonded to the cylinders using Transbond XT or Fuji Ortho LC. Light-activation was carried out with 40 s total exposure time using Bluephase G2. Half the specimens for each bonding materials (n=20) were stored in distilled water at 37 °C for 24 h and the other half for 6 months. Shear bond strength testing was performed after storage times at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min. The adhesive remnant index (ARI) was used to evaluate the amount of adhesive remaining on the ceramic surface at ×8 magnification. Data were subjected to two-way ANOVA and Tukey's test (p<0.05). Transbond XT showed significantly higher bond strength (p<0.05) than Fuji Ortho LC. Significant differences in bond strength (p<0.05) were found when 24 h and 6 months storage times were compared between materials. ARI showed a predominance of score 0 for all groups, and higher scores at 1, 2 and 3 for 24 h storage time. In conclusion, storage time and bonding materials showed significant influence on the bond strength of brackets to ceramic.