Bond Strength of Brackets Bonded with Chemically and Light Activated Materials after Thermal Cycling

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bond strength of orthodontic brackets bonded to tooth enamel with different polymer composites after simulated clinical aging, and analyze the enamel/ bond system fracture interface. 80 human premolars, were randomly divided into five groups (n = 16). G1: CO (Concise Ortodontica—3M ESPE), G2: SB (SuperBond—Ortho Source), G3: FMO (Fill Magic Ortodontico—Vigodent), G4: TXT (Transbond XT—3M ESPE) and G5: TP (Transbond Plus Self Etching Primer + Transbond Plus Color Change—3M ESPE). In all groups, the metal orthodontic bracket was bonded to the tooth enamel surface. The specimens were submitted to 3000 thermal cycling baths for 30 s, at temperatures of 5°C, 37°C and 55°C (±1°C). Afterwards they were subjected to shear testing and the results were analyzed by the Student’s-t test (p < 0.05). G1 presented the highest bond strength value, followed by G4 > G5 > G2 > G3. In all groups the majority of the fractures at the interface of the specimens were cohesive, except in G3, which presented the largest number of adhesive fractures. After clinical aging, the chemically activated material (CO) showed higher bond strength than the light activated types (FMO, TXT and TP). The self-etching adhesive system (TP) showed similar bond strength to that of conventional systems (FMO and TXT).