Marginal leakage and consistency of the composite resin material in etched cavities

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the degree of adaptation of undiluted and diluted composite resin to etched enamel walls with and without an intermediary resin. Cavities (O = 2 mm) were drilled in extracted teeth and the walls were etched with phosphoric acid. Fillings were made of Concise composite resin, without applying an intermediary resin (1), after applying the resin layer (2), after diluting the mix with one (3) or two (4) drops of catalyst resin but without an intermediary resin, and after diluting the mix and applying the resin layer (5). The fillings were ground flush with the tooth surface and the teeth were cycled thermally between two dye solutions baths. The marginal penetration of the dye was evaluated by measuring the discoloured portion of the margin at different depths using a stereomicroscope. The restorations with an intermediary resin (2 and 5) exhibited significantly less leakage than fillings without the intermediary layer (1, 3 and 4). When no resin layer was applied the dilution of the mix seemed to reduce the leakage compared with undiluted material but the differences were not statistically significant. The results indicate the advantage of using an intermediary resin with etching even when the composite is diluted.