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Orthodontic Bracket Removal and Enamel Roughness: Comparing the Effects of Sapphire and Metallic Brackets in an In
Cosmin Bogdan Licsăndroiu1, Mihaela Jana Țuculină2, Adelina Smaranda Bugălă2
1Doctoral School, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, 200349 Craiova, Romania.
Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland)
|October 29, 2025
Summary
Orthodontic bracket material impacts enamel roughness after debonding. Sapphire brackets cause more surface roughness than metallic ones, even after remineralization treatment, increasing plaque retention risk.
Area of Science:
- Dental Materials Science
- Orthodontics
- Biomaterials
Background:
- Enamel surface roughness post-debonding is critical for plaque accumulation and caries risk.
- Assessing enamel alterations after bracket removal is essential for patient oral health.
- Understanding the impact of bracket material on enamel integrity is a key concern in orthodontics.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate enamel surface roughness after debonding metallic versus sapphire brackets.
- To investigate the efficacy of a remineralization treatment on post-debonding enamel roughness.
- To compare enamel roughness changes between different bracket materials.
Main Methods:
- In vitro study using 200 extracted human teeth.
- Teeth were bonded with metallic or sapphire brackets using 3M™ Transbond™ XT adhesive.
- Enamel roughness (Ra) measured pre-bonding, post-debonding, and post-remineralization using SEM and a TR200 roughness tester.
Main Results:
- Bracket debonding significantly increased enamel surface roughness for both metallic and sapphire types.
- Sapphire brackets resulted in significantly higher mean Ra values (4.14 ± 0.36 µm) compared to metallic brackets (2.56 ± 0.52 µm).
- Remineralization reduced roughness in both groups, but not to baseline levels; metallic bracket roughness remained closer to baseline.
Conclusions:
- Bracket material significantly influences enamel surface roughness post-orthodontic debonding.
- Sapphire brackets induce greater enamel surface irregularities than metallic brackets.
- While remineralization offers partial improvement, post-debonding roughness exceeds clinical thresholds for plaque retention, necessitating better debonding methods.
