Effect of Curing Time on the Bond Strength of Orthodontic Brackets Bonded by Light Cure Resin-Modified Glass Ionomer Cement: An In vitro Evaluation
This study was designed with the aim to evaluate the effect of curing time on the shear-bond strength of orthodontic brackets bonded using light cure Resin-Modified Glass Ionomer Cements (RMGIC). This class of cement when used for luting orthodontic brackets offers certain advantages when compared to the more commonly used resin cements. Intact natural teeth (premolars) extracted for therapeutic purposes as part of orthodontic treatment was sourced for use in this study. The teeth were equally divided into four groups four testing, Group 1 - brackets bonded with RMGIC and cured for 3 seconds, Group 2 - brackets bonded RMGIC and cured for 6 seconds, Group 3 - brackets bonded with RMGIC and cured for 9 seconds and Control group - brackets bonded with composite and cured for 15 seconds. A high intensity LED light source was used to cure the cements. The Shear-Bond strength of the brackets was evaluated using a universal testing machine. One-way ANOVA test and Tukey multiple comparison tests were done to compare the difference of Shear-Bond Strengths among the groups tested. The average Shear Bond Strength among study groups was 7.64±2.86 MPa. The ANOVA and Tukey multiple comparison tests could not identify a statistically significant difference in Shear-Bond Strengths among the groups. Curing time does not appear to have a statistically significant effect on the Shear Bond Strength of orthodontic brackets bonded using Resin-Modified Glass Ionomer Cements..