Microleakage study of different adhesive systems in Class V cavities prepared by Er,Cr:YSGG laser and bur preparation

This study sought to compare the microleakage of composite resin restorations using two different dentin adhesive systems and two different modes of cavity preparation: a high-speed handpiece and an Er,Cr:YSGG laser. Twenty-five caries-free permanent human premolars were assigned randomly into five groups of five. A high-speed handpiece was used to prepare Class V cavities on the buccal and lingual surfaces of 10 randomly selected teeth. Class V cavities were cut on the buccal and lingual surfaces of the remaining 15 teeth using the Er,Cr:YSGG laser system. Fifty cavities were prepared with enamel and dentin margins 1.0 mm below the cemento-enamel junction and assigned into five groups: I, II, and III by the Er,Cr:YSGG laser and IV and V by the high-speed handpiece. In all groups, the differences between gingival and occlusal leakage scores were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The occlusal and gingival scores of groups I and IV demonstrated statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). The lased group with additional acid etching revealed less microleakage than groups III and IV (p < 0.05). Both self-etch and total-etch adhesive systems demonstrated acceptable microleakage scores when used on Er,Cr:YSGG laser-prepared cavities; however, additional acid etching after Er,Cr:YSGG laser preparation is recommended.