Enamel Etching For Bonding Fixed Orthodontic Brackets (A Systematic Review)

Background: Acid Etching tooth surfaces before bonding orthodontic attachments to enamel became a routine procedure in orthodontic treatments since 1960s. Various types of orthodontic etchants and etching techniques were introduced by investigators in the past 4 decades. Although vast amount of relative information presented in papers, there is a significant lack of consensus regarding clinical effect and security for application enamel etching. Therefore, we conduct this systematic review.Objectives: (1) To compare the effectiveness of different dental etchants for bonding fixed orthodontic appliances; (2) To compare the effectiveness of self etching primers (Transbond Plus Self Etching Primer, 3M Unitek, Monrovia, Califi, etc) with conventional etchants (phosphoric acid, polyacrylic acid, maleic acid, etc) for bonding fixed orthodontic appliances. Methods: For the identification of studies included or considered for this review, we electronic searched Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register(to 2006.4), Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CENTRAL, Issue 1,2006), Medline (1966- 2006.4), EMbase (1980-2006.4) and the Chinese Biological Medicine Database (CBMdisc, 1978-2006.4), and handsearched relative...