Flowable composite an alternative orthodontic bonding adhesive: an in vitro study.

Objective: To determine the clinical applicability of Ormocer based flowable adhesive (Admira flow) in comparison with BisGMA based adhesive (Transbond XT) and Ormocer based packable adhesive (Admira). Materials and methods: Sixty human premolars, divided into group I (n = 20) Transbond XT, group II (n = 20) Admira and group III (n = 20) Admira flow were bonded with metal brackets using adhesives. Brackets were debonded in shear on an Instron universal testing machine with a crosshead speed of 1 mm per minute. The mode of bond failure was determined by modified ARI index. Results: The results obtained from SBS evaluation and modified ARI showed highest shear bond strength for Transbond XT (SD 11.64) 3.68 followed by Admira flow (SD 11.0) 2.87 and least for Admira (SD 9.42) 2.21. However, the difference was not statistically significant, but an intergroup comparison done using Independent student ‘t’ test, showed statically significant difference between Transbond XT and Admira. Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed least survival median value for Admira, but the survival median value is not statistically significant among the three groups. All groups had modified ARI score of three (60-70%), suggestive of cohesive type of failure. Conclusion: The in vitro study showed that flowable Ormocer can be an good alternative to commonly used BisGMA based adhesive but the its efficacy needs clinical assessment through a survival analysis.