Pairing orthodontic adhesive resins and light-curing units for optimal degree of conversion

•Pairing manufacturer's orthodontic adhesive resins and LCUs did not consistently result in higher degree of conversion values when compared to unpaired resin-LCU combinations.•The presence of metal brackets does not uniformly reduce the degree of conversion of adhesive resins.•Degree of conversion differed within each resin when tested without brackets, with brackets, and when compared to the manufacturer-paired group without a bracket.