Effect of hemostatic agent on marginal gaps of class V giomer restorations

BACKGROUND: Contamination of dentin with hemostatic agents might exert a deleterious effect on adhesive procedures on dentin. The present study was undertaken to investigate the effect of aluminum chloride hemostatic agent on marginal gaps in Cl V giomer restorations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty sound bovine permanent incisors were selected for the purpose of this in vitro study and Cl V cavities were prepared on their buccal surfaces; the gingival margins of the cavities were placed in dentin. The tooth samples were randomly assigned to two groups (n=25). The samples in groups 1 and 2 underwent a restorative procedure without and with the application of aluminum chloride hemostatic agent in the cavity, respectively, before application of the adhesive. BeautiBond one-step self-etch adhesive and Beautifil II giomer restorative material were used for the restoration of the cavities in both groups. The samples were thermocycled and sectioned, followed by measuring the gap sizes at gingival margins in µm under a stereomicroscope. The marginal gaps were compared with Mann-Whitney U test. Statistical significance was set at P<0.05. RESULTS: The results showed significant differences in the mean marginal gaps between the two groups under study (P<0.001); the mean marginal gaps were higher in group 2 (with hemostatic agent) compared to those in group 1 (without hemostatic agent) (P<0.0005). CONCLUSIONS: Contamination with aluminum chloride hemostatic agent in giomer restorations gave rise to higher gingival margin gaps. Key words:Dental adhesives, giomer restorative material, hemostatic agent, marginal adaptation.