Evaluation of Bond Strength: An In vitro Study using Pro Seal

BACKGROUND Fluoride releasing bonding agent were introduced to take care of white spot lesions. However, their clinically handling properties are less than ideal, deterring many practitioners. Reliance orthodontic products (Itacsa, I11) recently released an enamel sealant named Pro Seal to be used with bonding agents. Hu and Featherstone showed Pro Seal significantly decreased enamel demineralization. Hence, this study was undertaken to study the bond strength using Pro Seal. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 60 freshly extracted first premolars were collected and were randomly divided into two groups. Group 1 (Control group): Included 30 premolars where brackets bonded conventionally. Group 2 (Experimental group): Included 30 premolars where brackets bonded using of Pro Seal. Debonding procedures: All the teeth were mounted on a metallic mold. Debonding procedure was carried out for each tooth after a rest period of 5 min. RESULTS The results from this study show that the mean of bond strength in Group 1 was 24.9 N and in Group 2 was 21.1 N. There was statistical significant difference in bond strength when compared using t-test of Group 1 and Group 2. The study showed that Group 2 showed significantly less bond strength than Group 1. There was statistical significant difference in bond strength when compared using t-test, Group 2 showed significantly less bond strength than Group 1. CONCLUSION The study showed that use of Pro Seal provided adequate bond strength, but when compared with conventional bonding agents there was a significant decrease in bond strength.