The efficacy of Er,Cr:YSGG laser in reconditioning of metallic orthodontic brackets
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Published on: June 6, 2025
Farzaneh Ahrari1, Mohammad Basafa, Reza Fekrazad
1Dental Materials Research Center, School of Dentistry, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. AhrariF@mums.ac.ir
Objective:
This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of erbium, chromium: yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser in removing adhesive from bracket bases, and its influence on shear bond strength (SBS) of orthodontic brackets, compared to several other recycling methods.
Background Data:
Reconditioning the dislodged attachments is frequently required in orthodontic practice to reduce treatment costs.
Materials And Methods:
Seventy-five premolar teeth were selected and divided into five groups. In groups 1 to 4, brackets recycled with different methods were bonded on the tooth surface, whereas in group 5, new brackets were used. The recycling methods were: silicon carbide stone grinding (group 1), aluminum oxide sandblasting (group 2), and Er,Cr:YSGG laser operated at 3.5 W (group 3) and at 4 W (group 4). The quantitative amount of remaining adhesive on the bracket base was determined after recycling using stereomicroscopic images, and the SBS values were measured.
Results:
The percentage of adhesive remnants was significantly lower in brackets cleaned with aluminum oxide sandblasting, and significantly higher in those grinded by silicon carbide stone (p<0.05). Brackets cleaned with silicon carbide stone produced the lowest, and those prepared by aluminum oxide blasting or Er,Cr:YSGG laser produced the highest SBS among the groups (p<0.05). There was a significant correlation between changes in percentage of remaining adhesive on the base after recycling with changes in SBS (Pearson r=-0.41, p<0.0001).
Conclusions:
Under the study conditions, both aluminum oxide blasting and Er,Cr:YSGG laser were efficient in removing adhesive from bracket bases, and resulted in significantly higher bond strength than for new brackets.
