title: Clinical trial comparing plasma arc and conventional halogen curing lights for orthodontic bonding.
abstract: The purpose of this clinical trial was to evaluate the reliability and time saved with a plasma arc curing unit (Apollo 95E, Dental/Medical Diagnostic Systems, Woodland Hills, Calif) compared with a conventional curing unit (Ortholux XL 3000, 3M Unitek, St Paul, Minn) for direct bracket bonding with resin adhesive. Forty-five patients were involved in the study, and 608 brackets were bonded in a contralateral quadrant pattern. The patients were followed for a mean (+/- standard deviation) period of 11 +/- 3.2 months. Survival analysis was carried out to compare the failure rate for the 2 techniques. The time required for bonding with each technique was also recorded. The mean survival time was 399 days, and there were no significant differences in survival time between the 2 bonding methods. Twelve bonding failures were reported with each technique. The curing time per bracket was significantly reduced with the plasma curing light compared with a conventional curing unit (65 +/- 19 vs 82 +/- 31 seconds). The plasma arc curing light can save chair-time without affecting the bonding failure rate.
authors.affiliation: St Luc University Hospital, Catholic University of Louvain, Brussels, Belgium. manzobruno@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Bruno
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Manzo
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liistro
authors.forename: Hugo
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: De Clerck
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003188:Composite Resins / Q000737:chemistry*; D001840:Dental Bonding / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000379:methods; D003799:Dental Stress Analysis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008027:Light; D008297:Male; D008334:Mandible; D008437:Maxilla; D016910:Orthodontic Brackets; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D019279:Resin Cements / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D003188:Composite Resins; D019279:Resin Cements