Failure rate of self-ligating and edgewise brackets bonded with conventional acid etching and a self-etching primer: a prospective in vivo study.

The purpose of this study was to comparatively assess the failure rate of self-ligating and edgewise brackets bonded with a self-etching adhesive and conventional phosphoric acid in patients followed for 12 months of active treatment. Sixty-two patients with complete permanent dentitions, similar treatment plans, and mechanotherapy were selected for the study. GAC Microarch edgewise brackets and ORMCO Damon2 brackets were bonded using a split mouth design, using the 3M Transbond Plus Self-etching primer (SEP) and Transbond XT paste; and conventional acid etching, with Orthosolo primer and Enlight paste, applied at an alternate sequence so that the adhesives were equally distributed on the maxillary and mandibular right and left quadrants. Data analysis was conducted with the use of logistic regression modeling. No difference in failure incidence was noted for either bracket-adhesive and mandibular or maxillary arch combinations, whereas a statistically significant difference was shown for right-sided appliances. On the basis of the results of this study, bonding of self-ligating brackets with SEP does not demonstrate higher probability for failure relative to standard bonding procedures and conventional brackets.