Assessment of defects at tooth/self-adhering flowable composite interface using swept-source optical coherence...

Area of Science:

• Dental Materials Science
• Biomaterials
• Restorative Dentistry

Background:

• Assessing the integrity of the tooth/restoration interface is crucial for long-term clinical success.
• Self-etch adhesives and self-adhering flowable composites are widely used in minimally invasive dentistry.
• Understanding interfacial defects is key to improving restorative material performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate adhesive defects at the tooth/composite interface using optical coherence tomography (OCT).
• To compare an experimental self-adhering flowable composite (EF) with a conventional system (PLP) before and after water storage.
• To quantify interfacial integrity under simulated oral conditions.

Main Methods:

• Extracted human molars with class-V cavities were restored with either EF or PLP systems.
• Swept-source OCT was employed for non-invasive imaging of restorations.
• Adhesive defects at the tooth/composite interface were quantified before and after water storage.

Main Results:

• The EF group exhibited significantly fewer initial enamel defects (4%) compared to PLP (48%).
• Conversely, EF showed substantially more dentin defects (75%) than PLP (11%) initially.
• Water storage increased enamel defects with EF (4% to 8%) and significantly increased dentin defects with PLP (11% to 52%).

Conclusions:

• The experimental self-adhering flowable composite demonstrated a high proportion of adhesive defects, especially at the dentin interface.
• Its clinical application as a definitive material for class-V cavities requires critical evaluation.
• Further in vitro and in vivo studies are necessary to investigate its clinical indications and long-term stability.