A resin impression SEM technique for examining the glass-ionomer cement chemical fusion zone

Examination of the auto-cure glass-ionomer cement (GIC)-tooth interface using conventional SEM techniques causes severe dehydration and subsequent fracturing of the GIC, hampering accurate assessment of the GIC-tooth interface. A simple, accurate impression technique was developed to examine the GIC chemical fusion zone. Samples of GIC were bonded to prepared cavities and tooth surfaces that had been conditioned with 10% polyacrylic acid for 10 s and allowed to mature for 24 h in neutral buffered saline, sectioned under water and then acid etched with 37% phosphoric acid for 30 s to remove sectioning smear layer and to highlight surface morphology, rinsed and gently dried. Optibond Solo Plus was then applied and photo-polymerized. Increments of posterior hybrid composite were then bonded onto the Optibond and photo-polymerized. The tooth sections with attached GIC were then dissolved off the bonded composite with 18% HCl for 4 days. Subsequent SEM examination of the resin impressions created with this technique provided high-quality, detailed images of the GIC chemical fusion zone, without the development of the fracture artefacts associated with the desiccation of GIC. The resin impression technique described proved to be a simple and successful method for providing accurate SEM images of the GIC-tooth chemical fusion.