Long-term clinical failure rate of molar tubes bonded with a self-etching primer

The purpose of this study was to assess the long-term in vivo failure rate of tubes bonded to first and second molars with a self-etching primer (SEF). A total of 810 molar tubes (414 first molar and 396 second molar) were bonded on 135 patients (56 male, 79 female; mean age 14 years) with the 3M Transbond Plus Self Etching Primer. The first-time failures of the tubes were recorded for a mean period of 26 months (range 23-29 months). Failure rates per jaw (maxilla-mandible), tooth (first and second molar), and quadrant (left, right) were analyzed with the chi(2) at alpha = 0.05 level of significance. Significant differences were found in the failure rate between first and second molars (9.66% vs 20%, respectively) as well as maxillary and mandibular molars (7.5% vs 21%, respectively). The combined, total failure rate for first and second molars was 14.80%. No difference was found between male and female failure rates for the molar tubes. First-molar tubes bonded with an SEF may show failure rates comparable with those reported in the literature for tubes bonded with conventional acid etching.