Electrothermal debracketing. Part I. An in vitro study.

The contemporary techniques of bracket removal require shearing or compression forces. The force necessary to separate the bracket from the tooth is sufficient to cause deformation of the bracket and, in some cases, is capable of damaging the tooth. An alternative to conventional bracket removal is electrothermic debracketing (ETD). ETD is the technique of removing bonded brackets from enamel surfaces with a cordless battery device that generates heat. The heat is transferred to the bracket by a blade that is placed in the bracket slot. The bracket is firmly held by a thumb-activated lock-on arm of the ETD unit. When the heat applied to the bracket is transferred to and deforms the adhesive-bracket interface, the bracket can be gently lifted from the enamel surface without distortion of the bracket or excessive force to the underlying enamel. Part I of this study measured the in vitro rise in temperature at the pulpal wall when ETD is used. These data are correlated with established primate threshold temperatures that have been reported to cause pulpal pathosis. All ETD procedures in the sample elicited pulpal wall temperatures that were significantly below the primate baseline. When water spray was used in conjunction with ETD, the mean ultimate increase in pulpal wall temperature was less than 1 degree C.