Effect of brushing on fluoride release from 3 bracket adhesives.

The purpose of this in vitro study was to compare fluoride ion release from 3 orthodontic bracket adhesives with and without brushing the bracketed teeth with a fluoridated dentifrice. The bracket adhesives included a light-cured composite resin (Transbond; 3M Unitek, Monrovia, Calif), a fluoride-releasing composite resin (Advance; L D Caulk Division, Dentsply International, Milford, Del), and a resin-modified glass ionomer (Fuji Ortho LC; GC America, Alsip, Ill). The teeth in the control group were not bonded with brackets. Sixty extracted human teeth were randomly assigned to 6 groups of 10 each: (1) Transbond, brushed; (2) Advance, brushed; (3) Advance, not brushed; (4) Fuji, brushed; (5) Fuji, not brushed; and (6) control, brushed. After bonding, each tooth was placed in a sealed plastic test tube containing 4 ml of deionized water. The toothpaste used in brushing contained 0.15% weight per volume sodium fluoride, 1500 parts per million parts fluoride (Winter-fresh gel; Colgate-Palmolive Co., New York, NY). Brushing began 24 hours after the teeth were bonded and placed in deionized water. After brushing, the teeth were thoroughly rinsed with deionized water and returned to a sealed test tube. Fluoride measurements were taken before brushing began, at intervals of 72 hours for 22 days, and 90 and 93 days after bonding. Findings included: (1) brushing significantly increased the release of fluoride ions from the teeth in the composite resin and control groups, (2) the enamel crowns of the unbonded control teeth absorbed and re-released a substantial amount of fluoride ions obtained from the toothpaste, (3) the brushed group of teeth bonded with the fluoride-releasing composite resin released significantly more fluoride on the last 4 days that measurements were taken after brushing than the nonbrushed group bonded with the same adhesive, (4) the brushed group of teeth bonded with the resin-modified glass ionomer released significantly more fluoride on the last 4 days that measurements were taken after brushing than the nonbrushed group bonded with the same adhesive, and (5) all groups released small amounts of fluoride ions 90 and 93 days after bonding (68.5 and 71.5 days after brushing ended); the resin-modified glass ionomer groups released significantly more fluoride than the other groups. Brushing with fluoridated toothpaste produced significantly greater fluoride release from teeth bonded with all 3 adhesives, and from the unbonded control teeth.