Comparative Evaluation of Microleakage of Two Variables of Glass-Ionomer Cement: An In vitro Study

Abstract

Introduction: The emergence of nanotechnology, which has become an important research area in dentistry, has made it possible to obtain nano-structured materials with improved properties compared to their basic form. In this work, we have performed an experimental study on natural teeth to evaluate the microleakage of a Ketac™ Universal nano-filled GIG in box cavities and compare it to a Ketac™ Fil Plus (3M ESPE) conventional GIG. Materials and Methods: 80 Class II cavities were prepared on the mesial and distal surfaces of forty teeth (twenty molars and twenty premolars). The sample was divided randomly into two groups: Group1 with conditioning and Group 2 without conditioning. The mesial cavities were obturated with Ketac™Universal nano-filled GIG and the distal cavities with Ketac™ Fil Plus GIG. The teeth underwent thermocycling, followed by infiltration with methylene blue. The teeth roots were inserted into methacrylate resin blocks and then sectioned with a chainsaw in the center of both restorations. After observation with a stereomicroscope, the extent of methylene blue infiltration in each restoration was recorded separately for the cervical surface (from 0 to 2) and the axial surface (from 0 to 3).The Chi-squared test with SPSS20.2 software was used to investigate the score distribution. Results: Results were considered significant if P<0.05. The Chi-square test showed a significant difference between the nano-filled GIG and the condensable GIG. The nano-filled GIG showed less infiltration, and it was found to be more tight than the conventional GIG. Conclusion: The results of the current study suggest that the use of nanotechnology is a promising strategy to improve the clinical performance of GIG. However, this study is limited to an experimental in vitro strategy, which cannot reliably reproduce clinical reality.