Bacterial microleakage of temporary filling materials used for endodontic access cavity sealing

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Providing a tight coronal seal is key for the success of endodontic treatment, therefore the study aimed to assess bacterial microleakage of materials used for short- and long-term temporization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred and twenty-eight human upper-third molars were divided into six experimental groups (n = 20) and two control groups: negative (n = 4) and positive (n = 4). The standardized access cavities were prepared and filled with: (1) Cavit; (2) Fuji II LC; (3) Fuji IX; (4) Voco Clip; (5) AdheSE and Tetric EvoCeram; (6) Excite and Tetric EvoCeram. The crown of each tooth was sectioned to obtain 5.5-mm-high disks, which were assembled in a standard setup for bacterial microleakage studies using Streptococcus mutans. The monitoring lasted 90 days. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis was performed. RESULTS: The lowest amount of leaking samples was found in AdheSE and Tetric EvoCeram (31.3%), Cavit (33.3%), and Excite and Tetric EvoCeram groups (35.3%), followed by Fuji II LC (66.7%), Voco Clip (83.3%). and Fuji IX (88.2%) groups. According to the day of microleakage, materials could be classified in three groups with statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). In the first group were Cavit (70 days), AdheSE and Tetric EvoCeram (68 days), and Excite and Tetric EvoCeram (65 days), in the second group were Voco Clip (44 days) and Fuji II LC (43 days), and in the third group was Fuji IX (21 days). CONCLUSION: None of the tested materials were able to completely prevent bacterial microleakage. Adhesively bonded composites and Cavit offer better sealing compared with glass ionomer cements, resin modified glass ionomer cements, and composites without the use of an adhesive system.