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Abstract

Introduction: It is essential to obtain a reliable adhesive bond between an orthodontic attachment and tooth enamel. All brackets exhibit micro leakage and its in the best interest of the patient to have minimal iatrogenic effects of this micro-leakage. Hence the objective of this study was to compare the microleakage under and around orthodontic brackets bonded with direct and indirect bonding technique. Material and Methods: Sixty human premolars were collected. Microleakage scores were directly recorded, using an electronic digital caliper (Guang Lu,China). For each section, there were two sides to be evaluated (incisal-gingival or mesial-distal) and each side had two interfaces to the score (enamel-adhesive and adhesive-bracket).  Four parallel longitudinal sections were taken through the occlusal and gingival surfaces with a low-speed diamond saw in the bucco-lingual direction Results: This study showed that although microleakage values are slightly different (0.0988mm and 0.0916mm in direct and indirect bonding respectively) between the two bonding techniques, but this was insignificant. Similarly, the bracket to adhesive interface showed higher microleakage depth in both groups as compared to adhesive enamel interface. The gingival sites of all the tooth sections showed higher microleakage as compared to the incisal sites. Conclusions: No significant difference of micro-leakage existed around and under bracket when bonded with different techniques.