Direct bonding on impacted teeth.

In eighteen patients twenty-three impacted teeth were surgically exposed and provided with Cuspid-Pull Brackets by the direct-bonding technique. Light orthodontic traction was applied after 10 minutes. Only three brackets were lost during the experiment. The experiment showed that sufficient bonding could be established on impacted teeth without pumicing the tooth surface and that phosphoric acid in minimal amounts causes no harm to the adjacent tissues but assists in preventing bleeding from the surrounding tissues. This made it possible to obtain the necessary dryness of the exposed tooth surface. The reasons for bond failure are discussed.