Microleakage at the composite-repair interface: effect of different adhesive systems

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the microleakage at the composite-repair interface using different bonding systems. Composite resin specimens (Filtek Z250 - 3M-ESPE) were divided into five groups (n=20) according to the following bonding mechanism: C - control - etching with 35% phosphoric acid; SB1 - etching and application of one coat of Single Bond (3M-ESPE); SB2 - etching and application of two coats of Single Bond (3M-ESPE); SMP1 - etching, application of Scotchbond Multi-Purpose primer (3M-ESPE) followed by the adhesive and, SMP2 - etching, application of Scotchbond Multi-Purpose adhesive (3M-ESPE) without the primer. Thereafter, all groups received new resin application. Samples were thermocycled (500 cycles / 5ºC - 55ºC [±2]) and immersed for 4h in 2% methylene blue buffered dye solution (7.0 pH). Three examiners measured the extent of microleakage in a stereoscope microscope, using four representative scores. For all experimental groups, no significant difference in microleakage at the repair was identified by Kruskal-Wallis test (p > 0.05). Therefore, different types of bonding systems presented the same effect on the dye penetration along the repair interface.