Objective: To investigate the influence of caries infiltrant preconditioning on the shear bond strength of orthodontic resin cements on sound and demineralized enamel.
Materials and methods: Stainless-steel brackets were bonded to sound or artificially demineralized (14 d, acidic buffer, pH 5.0) bovine enamel specimens using a resin cement or a combination of caries infiltrant preconditioning (Icon, DMG) and the respective resin cement (light-curing composite: Heliosit Orthodontic, Transbond XT, using either Transbond XT Primer or Transbond Plus Self Etching Primer; light-curing resin-modified glass ionomer cement: Fuji Ortho; or self-curing composite: Concise Orthodontic Bonding System). Each group consisted of 15 specimens. Shear bond strength was evaluated after thermo-cycling (10,000×, 5°C to 55°C) at a crosshead speed of 1 mm/min, and data were statistically analyzed by analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney test, and Weibull statistics. Adhesive Remnant Index (ARI) scores and enamel fractures were determined at 25× magnification and were statistically analyzed by regression analyses (P < .05).
Results: The caries infiltrant system significantly increased the shear bond strength of Transbond XT Primer, Transbond Plus Self Etching Primer, and Fuji Ortho in sound specimens, and of all resin cements except for the Concise Orthodontic Bonding System in demineralized enamel. Overall, caries infiltrant preconditioning decreased significantly the number of enamel fractures, but it did not affect ARI scores.
Conclusion: Preconditioning of sound and demineralized enamel with the caries infiltrant system did not impair but rather increased the shear bond strength of most orthodontic resin cements while decreasing the risk of enamel fracture at debonding.