Stereomicroscopic analysis of microleakage, evaluation of shear bond strengths and adhesive remnants beneath orthodontic brackets under cyclic exposure to commonly consumed commercial "soft" drinks

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of Coca-Cola®, Sprite®, and Maaza® on Microleakage, shear bond strength (SBS) and adhesive remnants underneath orthodontic brackets. Materials and Methods: A total of 192 human premolar teeth were used in this study. The sample was divided into four groups: Artificial saliva (control) [Group 1], Coca-Cola [Group 2], Sprite [Group 3] and Maaza [Group 4]. All the samples were stored in artificial saliva and immersed in their respective testing media (except the control group) for 15 minutes 3 times a day, separated by intervals of 8 hours. The immersion cycle was repeated for 15 days. After the immersion cycle, 24 teeth from each group were tested for SBS and adhesive remnant index subsequently. The remaining 24 teeth from each group underwent dyeing with methylene blue and were analyzed stereomicroscopically to evaluate microleakage underneath the brackets. Kolmogorov-Smirnov and Shapiro normality tests were performed and homogeneity of variance was tested with the Levene test. One-way ANOVA and Kruskal-Wallis tests were carried out separately for SBS, ARI and microleakage. Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS 20 for Windows (SPSS Inc., Chicago) software. Results: Coca-Cola showed a significant reduction in SBS and microleakage (p < 0.05) compared to the other groups. ARI did not show any significant differences between any groups (p > 0.05). The mean microleakage scores were higher for the gingival side of the brackets compared to the incisal side. Both Sprite and Maaza showed significant differences compared to artificial saliva, despite the SBS not being statistically significant (p > 0.05). Conclusions: A significant reduction of SBS was observed in Coca-Cola while increased microleakage was seen in all three drinks compared to artificial saliva.