The effect of composite resin preheating on marginal adaptation of class II restorations

BACKGROUND: One of the problems with a high filler content composite resins is gap formation at restorative material–tooth interface. The present study investigated the effect of preheating composite resins on the formation of marginal gap in Cl II restorations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this in vitro study Sixty Cl II cavities were prepared on the mesial and distal surfaces of 30 extracted premolar teeth. The gingival floor of cavities was placed 1 m below the CEJ. The samples were randomly allocated to 4 groups for restoration placement: group 1, Filtek P60 composite resin at room temperature; group 2, Filtek P60 composite resin at 68°C; group 3, X-tra fil composite resin at room temperature; and group 4, X-tra fil composite resin at 68°C. After a thermocycling procedure, the teeth were sectioned longitudinally in a buccolingual direction. Then the marginal gaps of the samples were measured at proximal and gingival margins under a scanning electron microscope at ×2000 magnification in µm. The data were analyzed with SPSS 21, using one-way ANOVA, post hoc Tukey tests and paired t-test (α=0.05). RESULTS: Groups 2 and 4 exhibited significantly lower marginal gaps, compared to groups 1 and 3, at both enamel (P<0.0001 and P=0.001, respectively) and dentinal walls (P<0.0001). In all the groups, there was significantly less marginal gaps at composite-enamel wall compared to composite-dentin wall interfaces (P<0.0001). There was no significant difference between groups 1 and 3 and groups 2 and 4 in enamel walls (p= 0.96, p= 0.99 respectively) and dentinal walls (p= 0.85, p=0.98 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: Preheating resulted in a decrease in marginal gaps in both composite resins. The effect of composite resin type on marginal adaptation was the same. Key words:Composite resin, dental marginal adaptation, preheating.