A microleakage study of temporary restorative materials used in endodontics

The purpose of this study was to quantitatively evaluate the sealing properties of various temporary restorative materials used in standard endodontic access preparations by using a newly introduced fluid filtration method. The materials tested were Cavit, Cavit-G, TERM, glass ionomer cement, zinc phosphate cement, polycarboxylate cement, and IRM. Extracted human incisor, canine, and premolar teeth were used, and each tooth served as its own control by testing for microleakage prior to access preparation. Following access preparation, cotton pellets were placed in the pulp chamber so that the space remaining for the restoration was 4 mm. Immediately after placement of the restoration, the teeth were immersed in Ringer's solution and incubated at 37 degrees C. Microleakage was measured after various time intervals. The results indicated that Cavit, Cavit-G, TERM, and glass ionomer cement provided leakproof seals during the 8-wk testing period, while leakage was observed in 4 of the 10 teeth restored with zinc phosphate cement. IRM and polycarboxylate cement were the least effective of the materials tested for preventing microleakage.