The prognostic value of visually assessing enamel microcracks: Do debonding and adhesive removal contribute to their increase?

OBJECTIVE To find a correlation between the severity of enamel microcracks (EMCs) and their increase during debonding and residual adhesive removal (RAR). MATERIALS AND METHODS Following their examination with scanning electron microscopy (SEM), 90 extracted human premolars were divided into three groups of 30: group 1, teeth having pronounced EMCs (visible with the naked eye under normal room illumination); group 2, teeth showing weak EMCs (not apparent under normal room illumination but visible by SEM); and group 3, a control group. EMCs have been classified into weak and pronounced, based on their visibility. Metal brackets (MB) and ceramic brackets (CB), 15 of each type, were bonded to all the teeth from groups 1 and 2. Debonding was performed with pliers, followed by RAR. The location, length, and width of the longest EMCs were measured using SEM before and after debonding. RESULTS The mean overall width (Woverall) was higher for pronounced EMCs before and after debonding CB (P < .05), and after the removal of MB. Pronounced EMCs showed greater length values using both types of brackets. After debonding, the increase in Woverall of pronounced EMCs was 0.57 µm with MB (P < .05) and 0.30 µm with CB; for weak EMCs, - 0.32 µm with MB and 0.30 µm with CB. CONCLUSIONS Although the teeth having pronounced EMCs showed higher width and length values, this did not predispose to greater EMCs increase after debonding MB and CB followed by RAR.