A Self-Conditioner for Resin-Modified Glass Ionomers in Bonding Orthodontic Brackets.

Objective: To evaluate a new self-etch conditioner used with resin-modified glass ionomers (RMGIs) in bonding orthodontic brackets. Materials and Methods: Sixty human molars were cleaned, mounted, and randomly divided into three groups. In group 1 (control), 20 orthodontic brackets were bonded to teeth using Transbond Plus Self-etching Primer; in group 2, 20 brackets were bonded using an RMGI with a 10% polyacrylic acid conditioner. In group 3, 20 brackets were bonded using Fuji Ortho LC with a new no-rinse self-conditioner for RMGIs. The same bracket type was used on all groups. The teeth were debonded in shear mode using a universal testing machine, and the amount of residual adhesive remaining on each tooth was evaluated. Analysis of variance was used to compare the shear bond strength (SBS), and the χ² test was used to compare the Adhesive Remnant Index (ARI) scores. Results: There were no significant differences in the SBS (P = .556) between the groups. The mean SBS for Transbond Plus was 8.6 ± 2.6 MPa, for Fuji Ortho LC using 10% polyacrylic acid 9.1 ± 4.6 MPa, and for Fuji Ortho LC using GC Self-conditioner 9.9 ± 4.1 MPa. The comparisons of the ARI scores between the three groups (χ² = 35.5) indicated that bracket failure mode was significantly different (P < .001), with more adhesive remaining on the teeth bonded using Transbond. Conclusions: The new self-etch conditioner can be used with an RMGI to successfully bond brackets. In addition, brackets bonded with Fuji Ortho LC resulted in less residual adhesive remaining on the teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]