ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to evaluated the cytotoxicity of brackets which were recycled thermally or chemically. New brackets and used brackets which had been in mouth for at least 2years were used as samples and human gingival cell culture and agar overlay technique was used to evaluate the cytotoxicity. From the experiment the following results were obtained: 1. New brackets in the as received state showed mild cytotoxicity. 2. Thermally recycled brackets except the used bracket not electropolished showed moderate cytotoxicity and among them new brackets showed greater cytotoxicity than used ones. 3. Used brackets which were thermally recycled without electropolishing showed mild cytotoxicity. 4. Among thermally recycled brackets, electropolished brackets showed greater cytotoxicity than not electropolished ones. 5. Chemically recycled brackets showed moderate cytotoxicity, and among them, new brackets appeared to be more cytotoxic than used ones.