Comparison of Bond Strength of Metal and Ceramic Brackets with or without Primer

Background: Bonding is an integral part of orthodontic treatment. Orthodontic bonding could be accomplished without the use of primer, it might be possible to reduce the risk of occupational exposure to primer and will save time. So it is very important to know whether primer is required or not.

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare the shear bond strength (SBS) of metallic and ceramic brackets bonded with and without primer application and to check for residual adhesive post debonding.

Material and method: A total of 100 extracted human premolar teeth were divided into 2 main groups A and B which were further subdivided into: Group A1 - metallic brackets bonded with primer; Group A2 - ceramic brackets bonded with primer; Group B1 - metallic brackets bonded without primer; group B2 - ceramic brackets bonded without primer. The SBS of these brackets was measured.

Result: The SBS of group A2 was significantly higher than the other groups, group A1 was the second highest, group B3 was the third highest and group B4 was the least significant. The adhesive remnant index was lowest on failure of ceramic brackets bonded with primer.

Conclusion: SBS of ceramic brackets bonded without primer is superior to SBS of metallic bracket bonded without primer and metallic brackets bonded with primer was superior than metallic bonded without primer.