Bonded molar tubes: a retrospective evaluation of clinical performance

This study investigated time to first failure of stainless steel orthodontic first permanent molar tubes (Ormco Corp) bonded with a light-cured resin adhesive (Transbond) and assessed whether this was related to patient gender, age of the patient at the start of treatment, the presenting malocclusion, or the operator. All first molar tubes were bonded to intact buccal enamel, free of any restoration. Survival analysis was carried out on data from 483 patients with 1190 bonded first molar tubes. For each case, a single molar tube, either that which was first to fail or had the shortest follow-up time, was chosen for analysis. The median time until first bonded tube failure was 699 days with an overall failure rate of 21% recorded. There was no significant difference in time to first failure of molar tubes with respect to patient gender or presenting malocclusion but significant differences were recorded with respect to the patients' age at the start of treatment and the operator. Age at the start of treatment and operator were identified as independently useful predictors of bonded molar tube survival.