Use of self-curing composite resins to facilitate amalgam repair

Resin cements, which have been shown to adhere to various metal alloys, were investigated as possible repair adhesives for dental amalgam. Test bars of repaired amalgam, formed by condensing new alloy against previously set alloy with or without the use of "adhesive" resins, were subjected to three-point bending measurements of transverse fracture strength. The results indicated that application of adhesive resin did not improve the breaking strength of the repaired specimens from that of specimens prepared without the use of such resins. The breaking strength of all repaired specimens was approximately 15% of the transverse fracture strength of the original intact amalgam bars. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that there was an intermixing of fresh amalgam and unset interfacial resin, which led to mechanical bonding of these materials, but there was no evidence of adhesion of the resin to the previously set amalgam.