Effects of silanation time on shear bond strength between a gold alloy surface and metal bracket

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to investigate the effects of silanation time on the shear bond strength (SBS) of metal brackets on gold alloy in a silicoating procedure and compare the SBS of metal brackets on gold alloy and enamel. METHODS: Type III gold alloy plates were sandblasted with 30-µm silicon dioxide. Excess particles were removed with gentle air after silica coating, and silane was applied. Maxillary central-incisor metal brackets were bonded to each conditioned alloy surface with a light curing resin adhesive for 1 s, 30 s, 60 s, or 120 s after applying silane. The brackets were also bonded to 36 upper central incisors with the same adhesive. All samples were cured for 40 s with a light emitting diode curing light. The SBS was tested after 1 h and after 24 h. The adhesive remnant index (ARI) of the samples was also compared. RESULTS: The 60-s and 120-s silanation time groups showed a higher SBS than the other groups (p < 0.05). Samples tested after 24 h showed a significantly higher SBS than did the samples tested after 1 h (p < 0.05). The 1-s group showed higher ARI scores. The one-way analysis of variance and Student-Newman-Keuls test showed that the SBS values of the 60-s and 120-s silanation time groups were not significantly different from the SBS values of enamel. CONCLUSIONS: Adequate silanation time is required to produce sufficient bond strength during silicoating.