Nd:YAG laser irradiation is an effective surface treatment for bonding between In-Ceram Zirconia and Panavia Fluoro Cement.

Under the conditions of this study, cast posts are preferable to restore endodontically treated teeth with flared canals and no ferrule.

Objective: To test if the addition of chlorhexidine digluconate (CHD) might influence the mechanical properties and antibacterial properties of two different conventional glass ionomer cements (GICs) used for band cementation. Materials and Methods: Two commercial brands of conventional GICs were used: Ketac Cem Easymix (3M/ESPE, St Paul, Minn) and Meron (Voco, Cuxhaven, Germany). The cements were manipulated in their original composition and also with 10% and 18% CHD in the liquid to create a total of six groups. Diametral tensile strength, compressive strength, microhardness, shear bond strength, and antibacterial effects in 5, 45, and 65 days against Streptococcus mutans were tested in all groups, and the data were submitted to statistical analyses. Results: There were no significant differences between the groups of the same material in diametral tensile, compressive strength, and shear bond strength (P . .05). There was significant improvement in the microhardness to the Ketac Cem Easymix (P , .001). GICs with the addition of CHD showed significant inhibition of S. mutans growth in comparison with the control groups at the three time points evaluated (P , .001). The addition of 18% CHD resulted in higher bacterial inhibition (P , .001).Conclusions: The addition of chlorhexidine digluconate to conventional GICs does not negatively modify the mechanical properties and may increase the antibacterial effects around the GICs even for relatively long periods of time. (Angle Orthod. 2011;81:496-502.)

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Sealer coating reduced the surface degradation of the tested soft liners, but the protective effect was more pronounced for the siloxane-based material.

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The purposes of this study were to develop a device to measure bracket debonding force in vivo and to evaluate, in vitro, the bond strength obtained with the device and with tensile and shear bond strength (SBS) tests performed in a universal testing machine. The device was developed using polypropylene pliers (3M Unitek). The basic principle consisted of measuring the applied force to debond, using two strain gauges (Kyowa) bonded to the region of major deformation of the plier handles. The crowns of 75 bovine incisors were embedded in acrylic resin and orthodontic brackets were bonded to the facial surface with Transbond XT (3M Unitek). In group A (n = 25) debonding was carried out with the device, while tensile bond strength testing was performed in group B (n = 25) and SBS testing in group C (n = 25). A universal testing machine (EMIC-DL-2,000) was used for these last two groups. According to analysis of variance and Tukey's test (alpha = 0.05), the mean bond strength for group C (7.71 MPa) was statistically higher than for groups A (2.98 MPa) and B (2.69 MPa). Groups A and B were not statistically different. The device was shown to be feasible to obtain in vivo bond strength values for orthodontic brackets, and that the bond strength values were dependent on the method and direction of debonding.

The application of Nd:YAG laser to dentin provided an increase in the bond strength values for the Tyrian SPE/One Step Plus and Adper Prompt L-Pop adhesive systems, but did not influence the bond strength values of the Single Bond adhesive system.