Effects of fluorosis on the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets bonded with a self-etching primer

Abstract

The mean SBS was 9.01 MPa for the fluorosed teeth bonded with SEP. This value was significantly different from those of fluorosed teeth etched with PA (15.22 MPa) and non-fluorosed teeth conditioned with SEP (12.95 MPa) and PA (15.37 MPa). The ARI scores of the fluorosed teeth conditioned with SEP were significantly lower than those of non-fluorosed teeth conditioned with SEP or PA. The results of this in vitro study suggest that there are no differences in the SBS of orthodontic brackets between mildly fluorosed and non-fluorosed enamel etched with 37 per cent PA for 30 seconds. The SEP showed lower SBS values for orthodontic brackets bonded to mildly fluorosed enamel. The findings provide some evidence that routine clinical use of a SEP to bond brackets to mildly fluorosed teeth cannot be supported.