IN-VITRO PEEL SHEAR BOND STRENGTH OF ORTHODONTIC ADHESIVES/

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the in vitro pee l/shear bond strength of a selection of orthodontic bracket adhesives to human premolar teeth. Methods: Twenty-two commercially available br acket adhesives were used to bond the same bracket type (Miniature Twi n, 3M Unitek, Monrovia, CA, USA) on 264 intact human premolar teeth an d then adhesively tested to failure. Peel/shear bond strength values w ere calculated in newtons and megapascals. The site of bond failure wa s scored according to the Adhesive Remnant Index. Statistics included one-way analysis of variance and Tukey's Studentized Range test togeth er with Weibull analysis. The latter is a survival analysis able to de scribe the performance of a material. Results: The mean bond strengths varied from 9.9 MPa for Concise to 4.1 MPa for Heliosit Orthodontic. The overall F-test showed a significant difference (P<0.0001). No sign ificant differences in bond strength were found between Concise, AccuB ond, Imperva Dual, Transbond XT, Kurasper and Spectrum. Conclusion: Co ncise and AccuBond are among the materials of choice for bonding fixed orthodontic appliances to teeth. These materials combine high bond st rength with a reliable bond that is easily and quickly debonded. (C) 1 997 Elsevier Science Ltd.