Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026
05:30
Roughness Impact of Piezoelectric Dental Scaler on Two Distinct Flowable Composite Filling Materials
Published on: January 10, 2025
Effect of pre-heated composites and flowable liners on Class II gingival margin gap formation
Camila Sabatini1, Uwe Blunck, Gerald Denehy
1SUNY at Buffalo, School of Dental Medicine, Department of Restorative Dentistry, Buffalo, NY, USA. cs252@buffalo.edu
Operative Dentistry
|December 25, 2010
Summary
Preheated composites (PHC) and flowable liners (FL) did not improve gingival margin adaptation in Class II composite restorations compared to room temperature composites (RTC). No significant differences in gap formation were found among the tested placement techniques.
Area of Science:
- Dental Materials Science
- Restorative Dentistry
- Biomaterials Engineering
Background:
- Gingival margin gap formation in Class II composite restorations can compromise longevity.
- Investigating novel techniques like preheated composites (PHC) and flowable liners (FL) is crucial for improving restoration quality.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the effect of PHC and FL on gingival margin gap formation in Class II composite restorations.
- To evaluate these techniques against room temperature composites (RTC) as a control.
Main Methods:
- Class II cavities were prepared in extracted molars, with margins 1 mm below the CEJ.
- Five groups were tested: PHC at two temperatures, FL cured before or with the first composite increment, and RTC.
- SEM evaluation of epoxy resin replicas assessed gap formation percentage.
Main Results:
- High intra-examiner reliability (ICC=0.956) was confirmed for gap formation measurements.
- No statistically significant differences in gingival margin gap formation were observed among the tested groups (p=0.82).
- The overall mean gap percentage was 6.3%.
Conclusions:
- Neither preheated composites nor flowable liners demonstrated an improvement in gingival margin adaptation over conventional room temperature composite placement.
- The tested placement techniques did not yield significant differences in gap formation.
- High reliability in evaluating gingival margin adaptation was achieved.