Marginal leakage of amalgam restorations pretreated with various liners

Purpose: To evaluate and compare the microleakage of amalgam restorations lined with four different liners. Materials and Methods: Cylindrical occlusal cavities were prepared in extracted human molars and the teeth were then divided into four groups and lined with one of four liners: Amalcoden, AM (glass-metal ionomer), FujiDuet, FD (glass ionomer), Amalgambond, AB (adhesive resin), or copal varnish, CV. Each cavity was then restored with a high-copper amalgam alloy and aged for 7 days in 37°C distilled water. The specimens were then thermocycled for 300 cycles followed by immersion in 0.5% basic fuchsin dye solution for 24 hours. The teeth were then embedded in resin, sectioned, and dye penetration at the tooth/amalgam interface evaluated microscopically at x 100 and scored from 0 to 4 (0= no leakage and 4 = greatest leakage). Results: The median values were: AM = 1.0; FD=0.5; AB=1.1; and CV= 4.0. Statistical analysis using Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U indicated no significant differences between AM and AB or FD and AB. CV was however, significantly worse at P<.01.