Comparative Analysis of Microleakage of Zirconia-infused Glass Ionomer Cement with Miracle Mix and Amalgam: An In Vitro Study

Context Various restorative materials are introduced in dentistry to achieve adequate strength and restore aesthetics. Dental amalgam is a versatile material with self-sealing property, but is unaesthetic. Other restorative materials like composites require conservative preparation, but exhibit polymerisation shrinkage resulting in microleakage. To overcome these drawbacks, a high strength restorative material reinforced with ceramic and zirconia fillers known as Zirconomer (Shofu Inc., Japan) has been introduced. Aims This in vitro study aims to evaluate and compare the microleakage of zirconia-infused glass ionomer cement (Zirconomer) with Miracle Mix (GC Fuji Miracle Mix, Japan) and amalgam. Materials and methods In this in vitro study, 30 non-carious premolar teeth were randomly divided into three groups (n=10) depending on the restorative material used—Silver Amalgam (DPI, India), Miracle Mix, and Zirconomer. Standard Class V cavities were prepared on the buccal surface of 30 non-carious extracted premolars. The restored teeth were thermocycled and then immersed in 2% methylene blue dye for 24 hours. All teeth were bisected longitudinally in a buccolingual direction and observed under a stereo microscope at 40X magnification for the evidence of dye penetration. The data were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Kruskal-Walis tests (p<0.01). Results Zirconomer showed the least microleakage in Class V cavity restoration with a statistically significant difference to amalgam and Miracle Mix. Conclusions Zirconomer has proven to be an excellent restorative material as it showed the least microleakage followed by Miracle Mix and amalgam. Zirconomer raises the bar for restorative reinforced glass ionomers by outperforming conventional glass ionomers and amalgam restoration.