A retrospective survey of the causes of bracket- and tube-bonding failures.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the causes of bonding failures of orthodontic brackets and tubes and the effect of premedicating for saliva reduction.


METHODS
Premedication with atropine sulfate was administered randomly. Failure rate of brackets and tubes placed in a group of 158 consecutive patients was evaluated after a mean period of 67 weeks after bonding.


RESULTS
The failure rate in the group without atropine sulfate premedication was 2.4%. In the group with premedication, the failure rate was 2.7%. The Cox regression analysis of these groups showed that atropine application did not lead to a reduction in bond failures. Statistically significant differences in the hazard ratio were found for the bracket regions and for the dental assistants who prepared for the bonding procedure.


CONCLUSIONS
Premedication did not lead to fewer bracket failures. The roles of the dental assistant and patient in preventing failures was relevant. A significantly higher failure rate for orthodontic appliances was found in the posterior regions.
Tom
T
Roelofs
Nico
N
Merkens
Jeroen
J
Roelofs
Ewald
E
Bronkhorst
Hero
H
Breuning
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001285:Atropine; D001641:Bicuspid; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D001840:Dental Bonding / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D053208:Kaplan-Meier Estimate; D008297:Male; D008963:Molar; D009967:Orthodontic Appliances; D016910:Orthodontic Brackets; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012463:Saliva; D012472:Salivation; D013193:Stainless Steel / Q000737:chemistry; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D058013:Test Taking Skills; D055815:Young Adult
D013193:Stainless Steel; D001285:Atropine
Atropine sulfate; Bonding; Bonding failure; Brackets; Tubes