Influence of different tooth types on the bond strength of two orthodontic adhesive systems

The aim of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of different tooth types on the shear bond strength (SBS) of two orthodontic resin adhesive systems in vitro. Two hundred extracted sound human teeth were used in the study. Ten teeth of each tooth type were the mounted in acrylic resin leaving the buccal surface of the crowns parallel to the base of the moulds. In each experimental group, the adhesives (Transbond XT™ and Light Bond™) were applied to the etched enamel surfaces. The orthodontic composite resins were then applied to the surface in cylindrical-shaped plastic matrices. For SBS testing, a force transducer (Ultradent™) was applied at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/minute at the interface between the tooth and composite until failure occurred. Data were analysed using two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), Kruskal–Wallis one-way ANOVA, a Bonferroni adjusted Mann–Whitney U-test, and an independent t-test. Generally, it was found that tooth type had a significant effect on SBS (P < 0.05) with Light Bond™ showing a higher SBS than Transbond XT™ (P < 0.05). The highest bond strengths were observed for the upper central incisor and lower molars with Light Bond™ (P < 0.05) and the lowest mean bond strengths for the upper molars and lower canine with Transbond XT™ (P <0.05). The results demonstrated that enamel SBS was significantly altered by both tooth type and adhesive system. Thus, the findings of this study confirm that enamel bond strength is not uniform for all teeth. These results may also explain the variability in the enamel-bonding efficacy of adhesives.