Evaluation of a Gliding Arc Discharge Non-thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Device for Orthodontic Bonding

57 Introduction The necessity to bond orthodontic brackets onto precious metals or their alloys has recently increased, especially in adult patients [1]. In the engineering fields, various methods have been developed to improve bond strength between metal surfaces and polymer adhesives. Clinically, pretreatment of metal surfaces are performed using a few procedures, e.g. abrasion [1-4] and primer methods preceded by mechanical cleaning [2,4-9]. Physicochemical alteration by water vapor and organic matter directly occurs after cleaning because of the incommensurably high surface energy of metals. A highly effective, simple, and time-effective pretreatment of primers is thus warranted. Plasma is a state of matter that consists of electrons, ions, free radical, and electronically excited atoms and molecules. In the past several years, there have been extensive efforts in apEvaluation of a Gliding Arc Discharge Non-thermal Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Device for Orthodontic Bonding