Microleakage of Class II packable resin composites lined with flowables: an in vitro study

Flowable resin materials have been suggested as liners beneath packable composites to improve marginal integrity. This investigation evaluated the effect of low-viscosity liners on microleakage in Class II packable composite restorations. Twenty Class II cavities were prepared in extracted third molars for each of four packable composites (Heliomolar HB, Prodigy Condensable, Surefil and Tetric Condense). Ten restorations were placed for each material with their corresponding bonding agent per manufacturer's suggestion; in addition, 10 were placed with the flowable liner recommended by the manufacturer for that material. Samples were finished, stored in distilled water for at least 24 hours and thermocycled for 1,000 cycles between 5 degrees and 55 degrees C with a one-minute dwell time. Apices were sealed with epoxy cement and the teeth were varnished to within 1 mm of the margins. Samples were placed in 0.5% basic fuschin dye for 24 hours, rinsed, embedded in resin and sectioned to produce multiple sections. Microleakage was rated (0-4 ordinal scale) at both the occlusal and cervical margins. Data were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA for main effect and ranked sum analysis for pairwise testing (alpha = 0.05). All materials, either separately or in combination with a flowable liner, had greater leakage scores at the cervical margin compared to the occlusal margin. All packable systems tested did not yield a reduction in microleakage with the use of a flowable liner in vitro; however, the packable system with the flowable compomer used as a liner yielded significantly less overall microleakage compared to the three systems that used a resin composite liner.