Dentin surface treatments and glass ionomer microleakage

To investigate the effect of various dentin treatments on the microleakage of Class V restorations restored with a resin-modified glass ionomer restorative cement.

Forty extracted noncarious molar teeth received Class V preparations with the occlusal margin in enamel and the gingival margin in dentin. Preparations were restored with Fuji II LC glass ionomer restorative material. Five dentin treatments were tested prior to restoration (n = 16): Group 1: without dentin pretreatment; Group 2: with GC Dentin Conditioner (10% polyacrylic acid solution); Group 3: with ProBond Dentin Primer; Group 4: with GC Dentin Conditioner and ProBond Dentin Primer; Group 5: with ProBond Dentin Primer followed by application of ProBond adhesive. Samples were thermocycled, stained with 0.5% basic fuchsin, and sectioned to evaluate microleakage. Data was analyzed using Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Tests at a significance level of P < 0.05. SEM analysis was performed on selected samples to examine the dentin/glass ionomer interface.

There was no statistically significant difference between any of the dentin pretreatments with regard to enamel or dentin microleakage. SEM analysis indicated excellent adaptation between glass ionomer and dentin for all treatment groups.