Bond strengths of two integral bracket-base combinations: an in vitro comparison with foil-mesh.

The tensile/peel and shear/peel bond strengths of a cast integral bracket-base were compared with a machined integral base and a foil-mesh base. The bases were tested with both a 'no-mix' and a two-paste adhesive. The cast base performed significantly better than the other two. All the bases produced a higher bond strength when subjected to a shear mode of loading and greater bond strengths were obtained with both loading configurations when using the two-paste adhesive. These differences in bond strength between the bases cannot be explained in terms of the differences in the surface areas of the bases, so that other factors will need to be considered.