title: Air-powder polishing on self-ligating brackets after clinical use: effects on debris levels.
abstract: Debris buildup on brackets and arch surfaces is one of the main factors that can influence the intensity of friction between bracket and orthodontic wire.
  This study sought to evaluate the effect of air-powder polishing cleaning on debris levels of self-ligating ceramic brackets at the end of orthodontic treatment, compared to the behavior of conventional brackets.
  Debris levels were evaluated in metal conventional orthodontic brackets (n = 42) and ceramic self-ligating brackets (n = 42) on canines and premolars, arranged in pairs. There were brackets with and without air-powder polishing. At the end of orthodontic treatment, a hemiarch served as control and the contralateral hemiarch underwent prophylaxis with air-powder polishing. Debris buildup in bracket slots was assessed through images, and Wilcoxon test was used to analyze the results.
  The median debris levels were statistically lower in the conventional metal brackets compared to self-ligating ones (p = 0.02), regarding brackets not submitted to air-powder polishing. Polishing significantly reduced debris buildup to zero in both systems, without differences between groups.
  Ceramic self-ligating brackets have a higher debris buildup in comparison to conventional metal brackets in vivo, but prophylaxis with sodium bicarbonate jet was effective in reducing debris levels in self-ligating and also in conventional brackets.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Dentistry, Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Belém, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mônica L S Castro
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Aragón
authors.affiliation: Private practice, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Leandro Santiago
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Adjunct professor, Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), School of Dentistry, Belém, Pará, Brazil. Coordinator, Universidade Federal do Pará (UFPA), Postgraduate Program in Dentistry, Belém, PA, Brazil.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Normando
mesh_terms: D002516:Ceramics; D017276:Friction; D016382:Orthodontic Appliance Design; D016910:Orthodontic Brackets; D009969:Orthodontic Wires; D013314:Stress, Mechanical