Polymerization shrinkage-strain and microleakage in dentin-bordered cavities of chemically and light-cured restorative materials

Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate in vitro the relationship between polymerization shrinkage and microleakage in dentin-bordered restorations. Methods: Four light-cured restorative materials in combination with their respective dental bonding agents (DBA) were investigated: Tetric Ceram/Syntac classic (Vivadent), Solitaire/Gluma Solid bond (Heraeus Kulzer), Definite/Etch & Prime 3.0 (Degussa), Solitaire 2/Gluma Solid bond (Heraeus Kulzer). The chemically cured resin Degufill sc microhybrid (Degussa) in combination with ART Bond (Colt ne) was also included, Polymerization shrinkage of the restorative materials was measured using three different methods (dilatometer, linometer, buoyancy method) and analyzed with ANOVA. For the determination of microleakage, caries-free human molars were embedded in acrylic resin and subsequently abraded with a wet abrasion machine to produce four level dentin surfaces. One hundred sixty cavities (3 mm diameter/1.5 mm deep) were randomly assigned to four groups of equal size. The groups were restored without (group 1 and 2) and with DBA (group 3 and 4), and either not subjected (group 1 and 3) or subjected (group 2 and 4) to 2000 cycles from 5-55degreesC. Each group was further divided into five material subgroups of eight cavities each. Microleakage was determined using a dye penetration test assessed at depths of 200, 400 and 600 gm into the fillings. Data were analyzed with the Kruskal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney test. Results: All three methods of measuring polymerization shrinkage (PS) generated the same, statistically secured ranking for the four light-cured restorative materials: PS Definite < PS Tetric Ceram < PS Solitaire 2 < PS Solitaire. In the microleakage study, only a few statistically significant differences were observed. Etch & Prime 3.0/Definite in group 3 and Solid Bond/Solitaire 2 in group 4 tended to exhibit the least microleakage. Cot-relation coefficients between aggregated shrinkage and microleakage data were 0.3 for group 3 and -0.2 for group 4. Significance: The results do not suggest any correlation between polymerization shrinkage and microleakage in dentin of direct adhesive restorations. (C) 2002 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.