Color changes of esthetic orthodontic ligatures evaluated by orthodontists and patients: a clinical study

ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate in vivo changes in the color of esthetic elastomeric ligatures from different manufacturers. Methods: Four widely used commercial brands of elastomeric ligatures were selected and used in 20 adult patients in a split-mouth design. The ligatures were evaluated by orthodontists and patients in a double-blind manner on the day the ligatures were placed (T0) and 30 days after intraoral exposure (T1) by means of a system of staining scores. Groups were compared by Friedman test with p 0.05). Results showed that all brands underwent significant staining when exposed to the intraoral environment. Modular-crystal MorelliTM (Sorocaba, SP, Brazil) showed the highest degree of staining with the median reaching the maximum value (3); while the other brands (3M UnitekTM, American OrthodonticsTM and GAC DentsplyTM) showed the median equal to 1 (p