Objective: To evaluate the effect of a self-etching primer on shear bond strengths (SBS) at the different debond times of 5, 15, 30, and 60 minutes and 24 hours.
Materials and Methods: Brackets were bonded to human premolars with different etching protocols. In the control group (conventional method [CM]) teeth were etched with 37% phosphoric acid. In the study group, a self-etching primer (SEP; Transbond Plus Self Etching Primer; 3M Unitek, Monrovia, Calif) was applied as recommended by the manufacturer. Brackets were bonded with light-cure adhesive paste (Transbond XT; 3M Unitek) and light-cured for 20 seconds in both groups. The shear bond test was performed at the different debond times of 5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes and 24 hours.
Results: Lowest SBS was attained with a debond time of 5 minutes for the CM group (9.51 MPa) and the SEP group (8.97 MPa). Highest SBS was obtained with a debond time of 24 hours for the CM group (16.82 MPa) and the SEP group (19.11 MPa). Statistically significant differences between the two groups were not observed for debond times of 5, 15, 30, or 60 minutes. However, the SBS values obtained at 24 hours were significantly different (P < .001).
Conclusions: Adequate SBS was obtained with self-etching primer during the first 60 minutes (5, 15, 30 and 60 minutes) when compared with the conventional method. It is reliable to load the bracket 5 minutes after bonding using self-etching primer (Transbond Plus) with the light-cure adhesive (Transbond XT).
