Orthodontic bracket shear bond strengths produced by two high-power light-emitting diode modes and halogen light

The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the shear bond strength of orthodontic brackets cured with two different high-power light-emitting diode (LED) polymerization modes with traditional halogen polymerization. A total of forty-five extracted human premolar teeth were randomly divided into three groups. Each group consisted of 15 teeth mounted in an acrylic block. Following a standard enamel etching protocol, orthodontic brackets were cured on the first group of teeth with fast-mode LED, the second group with soft-start mode LED, and on the last group with a halogen light. After bonding, the shear bond strengths of the brackets were tested with a universal testing machine. The results showed that brackets cured with soft-start mode LED produced the highest shear bond strengths (23.86 +/- 6.20 MPa). No significant difference was found between fast-mode LED (17.14 +/- 5.75 MPa) and the halogen group (17.38 +/- 5.41 MPa) (P > .05). The LED is effective for bonding metal brackets to teeth, and the soft-start mode gives higher bond strengths than the fast mode.