EVALUATION OF THE ETCHING PATTERNS AFTER THREE DIFFERENT ETCHING TECHNIQUES ON BUCCAL ENAMEL - AN IN-VITRO STUDY

etching techniques that is sandblasting, conventional acid etching with 37% Orthophosphoric acid, and laser etching. Materials and Methods:45 healthy premolar teeth from patients requiring extraction of as part of orthodontic treatment are subdivided into 3 groups. The enamel is etched with three different etching techniques-Sandblasting and conventional etching, conventional etching and laser etching. Results: In this present study, statistical comparison of the etching patterns between the groups reveals that in Group 4, Type II etching pattern is higher with 73.3 %and is significant as compared to other two groups. In Group 5 Type I etching pattern is higher with 53. %and is significant as compared to other two groups. And in Group 6 Type III etching pattern is higher with 60% and is significant as compared to other two groups.