Plasma arc versus halogen light curing of orthodontic brackets: a 12-month clinical study of bond failures.

Abstract

The purpose of this randomized clinical trial was to evaluate the clinical performance of brackets cured with 2 different light-curing units (conventional halogen light and plasma arc light); 83 patients treated with fixed appliances were included in the study. With the "split-mouth" design, each patient's mouth was divided into 4 quadrants. In 42 randomly selected patients, the maxillary left and mandibular right quadrants were cured with the halogen light, and the remaining quadrants were cured with the plasma arc light. In the other 41 patients, the quadrants were inverted. A total of 1434 stainless steel brackets were examined: 717 were cured with a conventional halogen light for 20 seconds; the remaining 717 were cured with the plasma arc light for 5 seconds. The number, cause, and date of bracket failures were recorded for each light-curing unit over 12 months. Statistical analysis was performed with the Fisher exact test, the Kaplan-Meier survival estimates, and the log-rank test. No statistically significant differences were found between the total bond failure rates of the brackets cured with the halogen light and those cured with the plasma arc light. Neither were significant differences found when the clinical performances of the maxillary versus mandibular arches or the anterior versus posterior segments were compared. These findings demonstrate that plasma arc lights are an advantageous alternative to conventional light curing, because they significantly reduce the curing time of orthodontic brackets without affecting the bond failure rate.

• Authors: Maria Francesca Sfondrini, Vittorio Cacciafesta, Andrea Scribante, Catherine Klersy
• Journal: American journal of orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics : official publication of the American Association of Orthodontists, its constituent societies, and the American Board of Orthodontics (Am J Orthod Dentofacial Orthop) Vol. 125 Issue 3 Pg. 342-7 (Mar 2004) ISSN: 0889-5406 [Print] United States
• PMID: 15014412 (Publication Type: Clinical Trial, Comparative Study, Journal Article, Randomized Controlled Trial)

Chemical References

• Resin Cements
• Transbond XT
• Stainless Steel

Topics

• Acid Etching, Dental
• Adolescent
• Dental Bonding (instrumentation)
• Equipment Design
• Equipment Failure
• Female
• Follow-Up Studies
• Humans
• Lighting (instrumentation)
• Linear Models
• Male
• Mandible
• Maxilla
• Orthodontic Brackets
• Resin Cements (chemistry)
• Stainless Steel (chemistry)
• Survival Analysis