Effectiveness of different resin composite materials for repairing noncarious amalgam margin defects.

Objectives: The specific objective of this study was to determine whether the current flowable resin composites can establish an effective seal in repairing noncarious amalgam margin defects.

Material And Methods: A total of 30 freshly extracted caries-free human third molars were used for this investigation. Class I preparations with a standardized 160-μ marginal defect were made by condensing amalgam against a Mylar strip. Accelerated aging and corrosion protocols were then applied to simulate oral conditions. The prepared teeth were randomly divided into five groups ( = 6 per group) according to the repair material employed as follows: (1) no treatment (control); (2) self-adhering flowable resin composite (Vertise Flow); (3) flowable resin composite (Filtek Ultimate Flowable); (4) sonic-activated resin composite (SonicFill); and (5) self-adhesive cement (SmartCem2). Specimens were thermocycled again and then immersed in 5% methylene blue at 37°C for 24 h. For dye-leakage measurements, specimens were sliced longitudinally using a low-speed diamond disk.

Results: The results indicated that the flowable resin composite material significantly reduced marginal microleakage compared to the control and SonicFill ( < 0.05).

Conclusion: Current flowable resin composites were found to be adequate materials for repairing noncarious amalgam margin defects.