Assessment of microleakage of cervical restorations

Cervical lesions restored with composite resin seem to be more susceptible to marginal leakage, because the gingival margin is usually placed in cementum and/or dentin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of five dentinal bonding agents, four composite resins and a glass ionomer cement in eliminating marginal gaps in an extraoral model. This study was accomplished using extracted human teeth and dye penetration method. The results indicated that none of the available dentinal bonding agents was able to eliminate marginal gaps completely. The cavities restored with the two component type dentinal adhesives leaked less than the negative control, glass ionomer cement.