Shear bond strength of metal brackets to feldspathic porcelain treated by Nd:YAG laser and hydrofluoric acid

Adult orthodontic treatment requires bonding orthodontic attachment to dental restorations. Ceramics are commonly used as esthetic restorative materials for the crowns and bridges. The present study evaluated the shear bond strength of metal orthodontic brackets to the feldspathic porcelain surfaces following conditioning by different powers of neodymium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Nd:YAG) laser and hydrofluoric acid as a conventional method. Seventy-two glazed porcelain samples were prepared and randomly attributed to six equal groups of 12. In the conventional hydrofluoric (HF) group, the specimens were etched by 9.6 % hydrofluoric acid for 4 min. In laser groups, samples were conditioned by 0.75-, 1-, 1.25-, 1.5-, and 2-W Nd:YAG laser for 10 s. Metal brackets were bonded to porcelain samples and after being stored in distilled water for 24 h, they were subjected to thermocycling for 500 cycles. The debonding was carried out by a Zwick testing machine. The data were statistically analyzed by ANOVA and Tamhane multiple comparisons tests. The mean +/- SD of the shear bond strength in the laser group 0.75, 1, 1.25, 1.5, and 2 W and HF group was 2.2 +/- 0.9, 4.2 +/- 1.1, 4.9 +/- 2.4, 7 +/- 1.7, 9.6 +/- 2.7, and 9.4 +/- 2.5, respectively. Together with the increased power of laser, the mean shear bond strength was increased continuously and no significant differences were found between the HF group and the laser groups with power of 1.5 or 2 W. Also, there was no significant difference between all test groups in ARI scores. There was no significant difference between bond strength of laser groups with power of 1.5 and 2 W and HF-etched group. So, Nd:YAG laser with appropriate parameters can be used as an alternative method for porcelain etching.