Bonded molar tubes--an in vitro evaluation

This study aimed to evaluate the mean shear bond strength of molar tubes with micro-etched bases bonded with either a compomer (Ultra Band-Lok), a resin-modified glass ionomer cement (3M Multi-Cure or Fuji Ortho LC), or a light-cured resin adhesive (Transbond). The amount of adhesive remaining on the tooth surface following tube removal was assessed also. Finally, survival time of molar tubes bonded with each bonding agent was assessed following simulated mechanical fatigue in a ball mill. A total of 120 extracted human third molars were collected and randomly divided into 4 test groups. Thirty teeth (20 to assess debonding force and 10 to assess survival time) were bonded with each adhesive according to the manufacturers' instructions. Debonding was carried out using a Nene M3000 testing machine with a crosshead speed of 0.5 mm/min. The mean shear bond strength of tubes bonded with Transbond was significantly less than that of those bonded with 3M Multi-Cure (P = .0036) or Fuji Ortho LC (P < .0001). Tubes bonded with Ultra Band-Lok also had significantly lower mean shear bond strength than those bonded with Fuji Ortho LC (P = .020). Distribution of adhesive remnant index scores only differed significantly between tubes bonded with 3M Multi-Cure or Transbond. Only I molar tube, bonded with Transbond, debonded in the ball mill at 5 hours, but at 50 hours there was no significant difference in the survival time of tubes bonded with any of the bonding agents. Compomer or resin-modified glass ionomer cements appear to be viable alternatives to light-cured resin adhesive for bonding molar tubes.