Genotoxicity of corrosion eluates obtained from orthodontic brackets in vitro.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to evaluate whether corrosion eluates obtained from commercially available orthodontic brackets are able to induce genetic damage in vitro.

Material And Methods: Genotoxicity was assessed by the single cell gel (comet) assay using Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells. The following orthodontic metallic brackets were used: Morelli (Sorocaba, Brazil); Abzil (São José do Rio Preto, Brazil); Dentaurum (Pforzheim, Germany); and 3M Unitek (Puchheim, Germany). Each dental bracket was submitted to a corrosion process in a solution containing equal amounts of acetic acid and sodium chloride at 0.1 M concentration for 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 35, and 70 days. CHO cells were exposed to eluates for 30 minutes at 37°C. The negative control was treated with the same solution used for corrosion process for 30 minutes at 37°C. Independent positive control was performed with methyl methanesulfonate (MMS) (Sigma Aldrich, St. Louis, Mo) at 1 ug/mL for 1 hour.

Results: None of the eluates was found to exhibit genotoxicity, regardless of the different commercial brands of orthodontic appliance used.

Conclusions: In summary, our results indicate corrosion eluates obtained from orthodontic brackets do not induce genetic damage as assessed by single cell gel (comet) assay.