Comparative evaluation of bonding failure rate with two light cure orthodontic adhesives: a cross-arch split-mouth prospective study.

Introduction: Continuous improvements in the field of adhesive dentistry have led to the introduction of various materials that have the potential to be used as orthodontic adhesives. One such light-cure orthodontic adhesive is the U-Bond™ Ortho, which clinically exhibits optimum bonding strength.

Objective: The aim of this cross-arch split-mouth prospective study was to evaluate the bonding failure rate along with the bracket survival time of U-Bond™ Ortho as compared with Transbond™ XT adhesive material, over an observation period of six months.

Material and methods: 36 consecutive patients (16 males and 20 females; mean age 22.44 years) fulfilling the selection criteria were included in the study. A total of 720 brackets were bonded equally using Transbond™ XT and U-Bond™ adhesive, which were analyzed for bracket failure rate, using the Chi-square test or Fischer test, and mean bracket survival time using Kaplan-Meier analysis.

Results: The overall bracket failure rate was 3.6% (2.8% and 4.4% for Transbond™ XT and U-Bond™ respectively). The results were statistically non-significant when both adhesive materials were compared for differences in bonding failure rate and mean bracket survival time in the maxillary and mandibular arches, and anterior and posterior segments, although gender-based differences were statistically significant.

Conclusion: Both Transbond™ XT and U-Bond™ Ortho exhibited similar clinically acceptable performances in terms of bonding failure rate and bracket survival time.