Microleakage in class V gingiva-shaded composite resin restorations

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the microleakage in Class V cavities restored with a new gingiva-shaded microhybrid composite resin and with a conventional microhybrid composite resin using three different dentin bonding systems (DBS). Class V cavities were prepared in sixty freshly extracted human teeth with the incisal margin in enamel and the apical margin in dentin/cementum. Restored specimens, after thermocycling, were placed in 2% methylene blue solution for 24 hours. Longitudinal sections were obtained and studied with a stereomicroscope for assessment of the microleakage according to degree of dye penetration (scale 0-3). Data were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis test and with Mann-Whitney U-test. In this study there was no leakage in enamel: all the cavities showed no dye penetration at the incisal margins (located in enamel). None of the DBS used eliminated microleakage in apical margins (located in dentin or cementum): three-step total-etch and single-step self-etch were more effective in reducing microleakage in dentin margins when compared with two-step total-etch. This in vitro study concluded that microleakage in Class V cavities restored with the composite resins tested is similar.