Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To assess the short-term effect of two in vitro erosive challenge protocols on the bond strength of metal orthodontic brackets on bovine enamel. METHODS: Sixty bovine incisors were selected and randomly divided into six groups: AS7 (artificial saliva - 7 days, Control Group); CC7 (Coca-Cola™ - 7 days); LJ7 (lime juice - 7 days); AS30 (artificial saliva - 30 days, Control Group); CC30 (Coca-Cola™ - 30 days); LJ30 (lime juice - 30 days). Microhardness testing was performed prior to the erosive challenge to verify the standardization of samples. Immersion was performed 4x/day for five minutes, for either 7 or 30 days. After immersions were concluded, the brackets were bonded and shear bond strength was assessed after 48 hours. The Adhesive Remnant Index (ARI) was also assessed. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA, followed by Tukey's post-hoc and Student's t test for paired samples, and the Kruskal-Wallis non-parametric test (α = 5%). RESULTS: The mean and standard deviation of microhardness testing of total samples were 281.89 ± 44.51 KHN. There was no statistically significant difference in shear bond strength for the time factor (7 or 30 days; F5.54= 0.105; p = 0.901). However, there was a statistically significant difference for the solution factor (F5.54= 6.671; p = 0.003). These differences occurred among solutions of Saliva x Coca-Cola™ (p = 0.003) and Coca-Cola™ x Lime Juice (p = 0.029). The assessment of the Adhesive Remnant Index showed no significant difference between groups. CONCLUSIONS: The immersion time used in the erosion protocols did not affect the bond strength of brackets to teeth. Coca-Cola™ induced significantly higher shear bond strength values than lime juice and artificial saliva. However, the short term effects of 7/30 days in this in vitro study may not be extrapolated for in vivo ones. Clinical studies should be conducted, substantiating the laboratory results.