Chemical etching solutions for creating micromechanical retention in resin-bonded retainers

This study introduced three chemical etching solutions capable of producing micromechanical retention in nickel-chromium and nickel-chromium-beryllium alloys used for resin-bonded retainers. The effectiveness of the chemical etching solutions was evaluated with tensile strength tests and photographs at various magnifications with a scanning electron microscope. Chemical etching with the CG-Etch solution produced suitable and uniform microretention whereas the other solutions were not effective on all metal alloys. Significant differences (p < 0.05) relating to tensile bond strengths were noted. The CG-Etch solution gave the highest mean bond strength compared with solutions II, III, and control groups.