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Air-powder polishing on self-ligating brackets after clinical use: effects on debris levels
Mônica L S Castro Aragón1, Leandro Santiago Lima2, David Normando3
1Graduate Program in Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.
Introduction::
Debris buildup on brackets and arch surfaces is one of the main factors that can influence the intensity of friction between bracket and orthodontic wire.
Objective::
This study sought to evaluate the effect of air-powder polishing cleaning on debris levels of self-ligating ceramic brackets at the end of orthodontic treatment, compared to the behavior of conventional brackets.
Methods::
Debris levels were evaluated in metal conventional orthodontic brackets (n = 42) and ceramic self-ligating brackets (n = 42) on canines and premolars, arranged in pairs. There were brackets with and without air-powder polishing. At the end of orthodontic treatment, a hemiarch served as control and the contralateral hemiarch underwent prophylaxis with air-powder polishing. Debris buildup in bracket slots was assessed through images, and Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the results.
Results::
The median debris levels were statistically lower in the conventional metal brackets compared to self-ligating ones (p = 0.02), regarding brackets not submitted to air-powder polishing. Polishing significantly reduced debris buildup to zero in both systems, without differences between groups.
Conclusions::
Ceramic self-ligating brackets have a higher debris buildup in comparison to conventional metal brackets in vivo, but prophylaxis with sodium bicarbonate jet was effective in reducing debris levels in self-ligating and also in conventional brackets.
