The effects of argon laser curing of a resin adhesive on bracket retention and enamel decalcification: a prospective clinical trial

A prospective clinical trial was carried out to compare argon laser-curing of a traditional light-activated composite resin with conventional visible light-curing in terms of bond failure rate and incidence of enamel decalcification. Forty-five patients with a total of 742 metal brackets bonded to the upper and/or lower teeth in a modified split-mouth design participated in the study. The adhesive (Transbond XT) on the control teeth was cured by conventional visible light for 40 seconds, and the experimental teeth were exposed to 10 seconds of 250 mW argon laser irradiation. The patients were monitored for a period of 14 months. Intraoral photographic slides of the maxillary anterior teeth (212 in total) were taken at the beginning of treatment, after 12 months of treatment, following application of a plaque disclosing agent, and at the end of the observation period, following temporary debonding. Seven dentists used standardized rating systems to evaluate decalcification and plaque accumulation. The results of this study indicated that there were no significant differences between curing methods for the incidence of decalcification and plaque accumulation. However, the 10 second argon laser-curing method showed a statistically lower bond failure rate (2.4 per cent, P < 0.05) than the 40 second conventional visible light-curing method (5.7 per cent). It is concluded that the use of argon laser curing is superior to that of conventional light-curing with respect to bond failure and chairside time. However, the incidence of decalcification seems to be similar.