Swept-source optical coherence tomography as a new tool to evaluate defects of resin-based composite restorations

Objectives: Current diagnostic imaging modalities for resin-based composites (RBC) do not possess sufficient resolution and cross-sectional tomographic imaging to detect defects of RBC restorations in real-time. The purpose of this in vivo study was to investigate swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) as a new tool to evaluate defects of RBC restorations. Methods: We evaluated for the failure of RBC restorations in 52 patients (11 male, 41 female) at the Division of Oral and Dental Surgery, National Centre for Geriatrics and Gerontology, Japan. SS-OCT images of the 132 RBC restorations were obtained in order to investigate their marginal adaptation, porosity and internal integrity. Results: Rates of defective restorations in terms of marginal adaptation, large porosity and gap formation were 65.2 percent, 27.3 percent, and 15.2 percent, respectively. Only 18.9 percent of the RBC restorations had no defects. Conclusions: SS-OCT has the potential to provide higher-resolution information related to the structure of RBC restorations currently unavailable with any diagnostic or imaging method. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.