Survey on awareness and preference of ceramic bracket debonding techniques among orthodontists

BACKGROUND: The objectives of this study was to evaluate the awareness of different ceramic bracket debonding techniques among orthodontists in the USA and the most commonly used debonding technique for ceramic bracket removal. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A survey on preference for debonding and awareness of debonding techniques was emailed to 2,227 members of the American Association of Orthodontists (AAO). RESULTS: 119 orthodontists completed the survey. 111 responses were included in the study analysis of ceramic bracket users. The most common technique used was mechanical debonding. 86.5% used a specially designed bracket removing plier from the manufacturer. Overall, there were 59.5% of surveyed orthodontists who were aware of electrothermal debonding, 73% were unaware of ultrasonic debonding and 83.8% were unaware of laser debonding. There were more orthodontists with an affiliation with an academic institution aware of electrothermal debonding (p=0.002). There also was a trend of orthodontists having no affiliation with an institution who were unaware of laser debonding (p=0.015). CONCLUSIONS: This survey showed that the majority of orthodontists who responded to the questionnaire were unaware of alternative debonding techniques of ceramic brackets. All orthodontists who use ceramic brackets utilized mechanical debonding technique. Key words:Orthodontic ceramic brackets, mechanical, electrothermal, ultrasonic, laser debonding.