Bonding metal brackets with a self-polymerizing sealant-composite: a 12-month assessment

Data spanning 15 months and about 1,500 bands have been presented describing an effective procedure for bonding metal brackets to enamel by the acid-etch method. A sealant-composite combination for metal brackets, not previously reported, has been described. Data have also been presented showing that, for the method and material used, it did not seem to matter clinically if a 37 per cent acid were used or if, instead a 50 per cent orthophosphoric acid in a liquid or thixotropic form, applied for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes, and drying agent were used. A comparison with the Nuva system was made and a modification was described for a useful combination technique, namely, Enamel Bond-Nuva-Tach, which takes advantage of certain attributes of each.