Comparison of Dentinal Microleakage in Three Interim Dental Restorations: An In Vitro Study

The aim of this study was to assess and compare the coronal microleakage of e-Temp (DiaDent, Korea), intermediate restorative material (IRM) (Dentsply, Sirona), and Systemp Inlay (Ivoclar Vivadent, Germany) temporary restorative materials used to seal the class I cavity preparations.

In this in vitro experimental study, three temporary restorative materials were assessed for microleakage. A standardized class I access cavities (2 mm × 4 mm) were prepared in 30 freshly extracted intact human premolar teeth. Teeth were then divided randomly into three groups consisting of 10 samples each. Teeth were restored with e-Temp (n = 10), IRM (n = 10), and Systemp Inlay (n = 10), temporary restorations, and subjected to thermocycling 5000 times in a cold bath followed by a temperature of 55°C with a dwell time of 30 seconds. Teeth were painted with two layers of nail polish except for 1 mm around the restoration margin, soaked in 1% methylene blue dye solution (pH 7.4), and kept for 24 h. Sticky wax was used to seal the apical foramina. All the teeth were sectioned mesiodistally, and the specimens were examined for the amount of dye penetration (microleakage) through the restoration using Digital Microscope under 50× magnification. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney U, and Kruskal-Wallis tests.

e-Temp showed 1 (10%) specimen with dye penetration up to 1 mm (Score 1). The specimens restored with IRM showed a 1 (10%) and 9 (90%) of scores for 1 and 3 dye penetration. However, 2 (20%) teeth restored with Systemp Inlay showed a dye penetration up to 3 mm or more (Score 3). A comparison of mean microleakage values of e-Temp (0.03 ± 0.10), IRM (2.69 ± 0.77), and Systemp Inlay (0.78 ± 1.64) showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). IRM specimens showed significantly higher microleakage values than e-Temp and Systemp Inlay specimens (P < 0.05).

All the temporary restorative materials tested in this in vitro experiment showed a certain extent of microleakage. The temporary restorative material e-Temp showed the least microleakage values followed by Systemp Inlay and IRM.