The leakage of Class II cavities restored with packable resin-based composites

Recently, new resin-based composites, called "packable" or "condensable" resin composites, are being promoted as amalgam alternatives. The purpose of this study was to evaluate leakage in Class II cavities restored with the five packable resin-based composites. On 45 freshly extracted human molars, cavities were prepared following a standardized pattern in which the Class II cavity had a length of 3.0 mm, width of 2.0 mm, and depth of 1.5 mm occlusally. The proximal box had an axial depth of 1.5 mm and a buccolingual width of 4.0 mm. The cervical margin was located 1.0 mm below the cement enamel junction (CEJ). The teeth were randomly divided into five groups of 8 each. The cavity surface was conditioned with 36% phosphoric acid, rinsed, excess water removed, and a dental bonding adhesive (Prime&Bond NT) was used for all the cavities. The teeth were then restored according to the manufacturer's instructions: Group 1, Surefil; Group 2, Solitaire; Group 3, Alert; Group 4, Filtek P60; and Group 5, Prodigy Condensable. After the restorations were completed, the specimens were finished and polished with an aluminum-oxide-coated disc, thermocycled, stained, sectioned, and viewed under a stereomicroscope for leakage at occlusal/enamel and gingival/dentin margins. All test groups showed that leakage of gingival/dentin margins were greater when compared with leakage of occlusal/enamel margins. At the occlusal/enamel margins, there were no significant differences between the materials; however, at gingival/dentin margins, Filtek P60 and Prodigy Condensable demonstrated less leakage, while Solitaire demonstrated greater leakage.