Evaluation of Enamel Damage upon Debonding of Ceramic Brackets with and without CO2 Laser in Orthodontic Treatment

Debonding of ceramic brackets results in enamel damage and bracket fracture due to a strong bond of ceramic brackets and low fracture resistance. The aim of this study was to compare enamel damage upon debonding of ceramic brackets with and without CO2 laser in orthodontic treatment. Materials &

In this experimental study, 44 extracted first premolar teeth were selected and randomly divided into two groups (n = 22). After bonding, the teeth were divided into two group with and without the use of CO2 laser for debonding of brackets. A stereomicroscope was used at ×10 to determine the exact number and length of enamel cracks before and after debonding of the brackets. Data were analyzed with paired t-test and t-test using SPSS 23 (α = 0.05).

In the group without laser, the rate of enamel fracture was 4.5% and in 9.1% of the cases there were fractures in the bracket base. There were no fractures or cracks in the enamel or bracket bases. In this group, the mean length of cracks was significantly low (p value < 0.001). There were significant differences in the lengths of the cracks in both groups before and after debonding (p value < 0.018). Although the number of cracks in the enamel in both groups increased after debonding, this increase was not significant in the laser group (p value < 0.001).

Debonding of ceramic brackets with CO2 laser resulted in a decrease in enamel damage during debonding.