Basis of orthodontics-bonding – A review

Bonding has transformed the tedium of appliance construction into an efficient and pleasant operation for both patient and clinician. The bonding procedure requires debonding at the termination of treatment. The objectives of debonding are to remove the attachments and all adhesive resin from tooth and to restore the surface as closely as possible to its pretreatment condition. To achieve these objectives correct bonding and debonding are of fundamental importance. The introduction of the acid etch bonding technique has led to dramatic changes in the practice of orthodontics. The increased adhesion produced by acid pretreatment, using 85% phosphoric acid, was demonstrated in 1955 by Buonocore.1 In 1965, with the advent of epoxy resin bonding, Newman2 began to apply these findings to direct bonding orthodontic attachments. The future of bonding is promising, product development in terms of adhesives, brackets, devices and technical details is continually occurring at a rapid rate. The purpose of this review article is to update the current available information on direct bonding to natural and artificial teeth.