Office reconditioning of stainless steel orthodontic attachments

An investigation was conducted to determine a simple, effective method for reconditioning stainless steel orthodontic attachments in the orthodontic office. In total, 100 new brackets were bonded to premolar teeth, then debonded and the bond strength recorded as a control for the reconditioning process. The debonded brackets were divided into six groups and each group reconditioned using different techniques as follows: attachments in four groups were flamed and then either (1) sandblasted, (2) ultrasonically cleaned, (3) ultrasonically cleaned followed by silane treatment, (4) rebonded without further treatment. Of the two remaining groups, one was sandblasted, while the brackets in the other were roughened with a greenstone. The brackets were rebonded to the premolar teeth after the enamel surfaces had been re-prepared, and their bond strengths measured. The results indicated that sandblasting was the most effective in removing composite without a significant change in bond strength compared with new attachments. Silane application did not improve the bond strength values of flamed and ultrasonically cleaned brackets. Attachments that had only been flamed had the lowest bond strength, followed by those that had been roughened with a greenstone.