Microleakage of class V cavities restored by using different glass ionomer cements

Abstract Purpose To compare microleakage of class V cavities restored by using different glass ionomer cements. Materials and methods Forty-five human sound premolars teeth were used in this study. Each tooth was mounted in acrylic blocks. A standardized box-shaped class V cavity was prepared with 3 mm mesio-distal width, 2 mm occluso-gingival height and 2 mm axial depth on the buccal surface of each tooth. The prepared teeth were randomly divided into three equal groups ( n = 15 each) according to the restorative material using GC Fuji II LC, Zirconomer, Cention N in groups I, II and III, respectively. All teeth were subjected to 500 thermal cycles from 5 to 55°C with a dwell time 30 and 20 s transfer time. They were immersed in 2% methylene blue solution for 24 h. Each specimen was sectioned longitudinally in bucco–lingual direction through the center of each restoration. The dye penetration at the occlusal and gingival margins was evaluated using a stereomicroscope. Results At the occlusal margin, mean microleakage of group II was the highest score recorded 2 followed by group I recorded 1.53 and group III was the least score recorded 0.47. The same at the gingival margin, the mean microleakage of group II was the highest score recording 2.40 followed by group I recording 1 and group III was the least score recording 0. The study found significant differences in occlusal and gingival microleakage between the tested groups, recording P value of 0.000 and 0.008, respectively. While no significant difference was found between the occlusal and gingival scores of each material. Conclusion None of the tested materials was completely free from microleakage. Cention N exhibited the least microleakage followed by GC Fuji II LC and Zirconomer.