[The marginal sealing of composite inlays with different cavity liners]

In this in-vitro study we investigated the sealing properties of composite inlays (EOS system) dependent on 8 different base materials. Using a dye-penetration test, the sealing was determined after mechanical and thermal cycling. A partially massive dye-penetration was detected in most cases when one of the following materials was used: a calciumsalicylate cement (Dycal), a combination of calciumsalicylate cement and a resin (Basic), a calcium hydroxide filled resin (Prisma VLC-Dycal), or a zinc phosphate cement (Harvard Cement). In contrast to this, we discovered a complete or almost complete sealing in most cases after application of chemically-cured glass ionomer cements (Ketac-Bond, Ketac-Bond Aplicap, Base-Line) or a light-cured glass ionomer cement (XR-Ionomer) as base materials. From these results it can be concluded that the choice of base materials has an influence on the marginal sealing of composite inlays after thermal and mechanical cycling. However, it is not possible to make a definitive statement on the suitability of these base materials under clinical conditions, because the results of dye-penetration tests have only limited clinical validity.