Abstract
It was evaluated, in vitro, the effect of different artificial saliva on the mechanical properties of elastomeric ligatures. A total number of 160 elastomeric ligatures were divided in four groups (n=40 in each group). Three groups were exposed to three types of artificial saliva, (unmodified artificial saliva, with coca cola and with topical fluoride agent), for a period of 28 days. The fourth group (control group) remained unexposed. Tensile load at failure was determined by stretching the ligatures using an Instron Universal Testing Machine, until they fractured. The obtained data was statistically analyzed at a level of significance (p < 0.05). The two-way ANOVA showed significant statistical differences within groups (p < 0.001) and between time intervals (p < 0.005). There were a statistical significant interaction between groups and time on tensile load at failure (p < 0.005). Artificial saliva, Coke and Topical Fluoride seem to cause an increase in force decay of elastomeric ligatures, with a decrease in tensile load at failure over time. Keywords: elastomeric, orthodontics, tensile load