Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of two self-etching primers for bonding brackets in comparison with the conventional acid-etch technique.
Methods: The brackets were bonded to extracted human premolars using the resin orthodontic adhesive system, Transbond XT. This procedure was carried out in accordance with one of the following three protocols of enamel conditioning: (1) 37% phosphoric acid etching, (2) Transbond Plus Self Etching Primer (TSEP), and (3) Adper Prompt L-Pop (Adper PLP). Shear bond strength was measured with a universal test machine. The adhesive remnant on the tooth after debonding was quantified using image analysis equipment. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to observe the effects of conditioning of each product on the enamel.
Results: No significant differences were observed in bond strengths of the three groups evaluated (P> 0.05). Self-etching primers left significantly less adhesive on the tooth than the conventional acid-etch technique and, among them, Adper PLP left significantly less adhesive than TSEP (P< 0.017). SEM observations showed that the etching effect of self-etching primers approximated to the etching effect of phosphoric acid.