The effect of soft laser irradiation on fluoride release of two fluoride-containing orthodontic bonding materials

Laser technology offers new treatment possibilities in dentistry. The effect thereof on dental biomaterials is however not yet known. Two fluoride (F) containing orthodontic bonding materials were investigated in this study. Group A = FluorEver OBA (Macro Chem) and group B = Light-Bond (Reliance Orthodontic Prod. Inc.). A galium arsenide aluminium (Ga As Al) low level laser with an energy transmission of 5.45 J (30 mW for 180 seconds) and an energy density of 27.54 J/cm" was used to irradiate the orthodontic bonding materials. SEM evaluation showed that the laser irradiation had no superficial physical ultrastructural effects on either of the two materials. In addition, the F release of Group A could be enhanced for up to seven months by a sole laser treatment (p < 0.05). Although the F release in the lased Group B was also higher, it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The difference in the F release of the two materials after laser irradiation may be due to differences in the composition of the orthodontic bonding materials, but cannot be adequately explained.