Original articles Annals and Essences of Dentistry Vol. - III Issue 2 Apr – jun 2011 3 doi:10.5368/aedj.2011.3.2.1.1 COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICIENCY OF TWO COLOR CHANGING BRACKET BONDING ADHESIVES- A PROSPECTIVE CLINICAL STUDY 1 Naveen Shamnur 1 Professor, Department of orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics . 2 Mandava Prasad 2 Professor and Head, Department of orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics . 3 Jithin Jose Jacob 3 post graduate Student, Department of orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopaedics. 1,3 College of Dental Science, Davangere, Karnataka-India. 2 Narayana Dental College and Hospital, Nellore – 524002, Andhra Pradesh, India. ABSTRACT Introduction: The aim of the study was to evaluate and compare the clinical performance of two color changing bracket bonding adhesives (Transbond Plus and Grengloo), in terms of bond failure rate, bonding time and time taken by the adhesives to change color. Methods: Eight consecutive patients seeking orthodontic fixed appliance therapy were bonded using Cross arch Split mouth technique, which involves the placement of two varieties of bracket bonding adhesives in diagonally opposite quadrants and cured using a visible light curing unit. The time taken by the adhesive to change color during bonding and the bonding time was noted using a stop watch. The bond failure rates of both the adhesives were evaluated by a thorough follow up of individual case, as and when they reported to the department with a debonded bracket. The data collected were subjected to statistical analysis using Chi square test and student’s t-test. Results: The overall bond failure rate for two color changing adhesives were 7.1 % and 8.6 %,bonding time was 59.1 and 57.4 seconds per tooth and time to change color was 45.9 and 46 seconds. Interpretation & Conclusion: There were no significant differences between the failure rates, bonding time and time taken by both the adhesives to change color showing that both are clinically efficient and effective. Clinically they are preferred over the non color changing bracket bonding adhesives as these materials save clinical chairside time because of their color changing property which helps in easy flash removal while bonding brackets. KEYWORDS :- Bonding,colour change,light cure,transbond plus,Grengloo,3m unitek,ormco. INTRODUCTION Bonding of orthodontic attachments to enamel has been in use for over 40 years, although the exact date of the first use of the technique is disputed. 1,2,3 The success of the fixed appliance therapy depends on attachments having adequate bond strengths and a low failure rate. The overall time required to place an appliance is an important factor in the cost of the treatment, whilst the need to replace the brackets frequently may severely impair the progress of fixed appliance therapy, and can be costly in terms of materials and time. Orthodontic attachments are subjected to a large number of forces in mouth, resulting in a complex distribution of stresses within the adhesive and its junctions with the enamel and the bracket base. Bond strength to enamel will depend on a large number of factors including the nature of the enamel surface, enamel conditioning and procedures, the types of adhesive used, and the shape and design of the bracket base. A clinical study by Zachrison reported that carefully performed bonding technique may be of value, particularly on anterior teeth, premolars and mandibular second molars, while the evidence at hand would suggest that first molars are better banded. 4 Another study supported the previous study by showing that lowest failure rates were found with banding on buccal teeth and bonding on anterior teeth. Access, high occlusal forces and moisture contamination was found to be the reasons why author suggested banding the molars. 5 A comparative study showed that bracket placement and flash removal were found to be much easier with the light-activated composite than with the autopolymerising system. 6 Whereas a longitudinal study done to evaluate and compare the rate of success or failure between a visible light cured bonding material and chemically cured bonding material did not reveal any statistically significant differences between the failure rates of the two systems. 7 With advances in dental materials and techniques, bonding of orthodontic brackets is easier and more predictable, but recent advances make bonding more efficient and effective.