An in Vitro Comparison of The Shear Bond Strength of Human Teeth to Bovine Teeth in The Bonding Orthodontic Brackets

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate bovine enamel as such an alternative. Methodology: Ten human premolars and ten bovine incisors were bonded with two types of brackets, metallic brackets and ceramic brackets, using two types of adhesives, a composite resin adhesive (Concise) and a glass ionomer cements (Fuji Ortho LC). All samples were bonded and subjected to 750 cycles of thermocycling between 4°C and 55oC with a dwell time in each temperature of 10 seconds and a 9 seconds interval between the two containers. Shear bond strength was tested using an universal Instron testing machine operating at cross head speed 0.02”/minute. Results: For brackets bonded with Concise, mean shear bond strength of bovine enamel was significantly lower than human teeth. Metallic Brackets bonded to bovine enamel exhibited 45%less bond strength than human enamel and ceramic brackets showed 28%less bond strength. No significant difference was observed between mean shear bond strength of either metallic or ceramic brackets bonded to bovine and human enamel when the adhesive used was glass ionomer cement. Conclusion: Bovine teeth could be used as alternatives to extracted human teeth for orthodontic bracket bonding studies.