Evaluation of Marginal Sealing in Adhesives Restorations After the Use of a Papain Gel

Objective: Evaluate the sealing conditions of adhesive restorations after the chemomechanical removal of carious tissue with a papain gel (Papacarie ) and after the traditional method of caries removal utilizing rotatory instruments. Method: Seventeen human premolars with caries lesions envolving oclusal (enamel marginal) and cervical (dentin marginal) surfaces was used. The sample was divided in two groups: G1 removal of caries tissue with the traditional method G2 removal of caries tissue with the chemomechanical technique (Papacarie ). After the removal of caries tissue with one of the two techniques, the adhesive system Prime&Bond 2.1 was applied and the cavities were restored with composite resin (Filtek Z250 , A2). The test specimes were thermocycled (300 cycles at 5oC – 55oC, for 15 seconds in each temperature), isolated through the sealing of apices, immersed into basic fucsin during 24 hours, seccioned longitudinally through the restoration and assessed by three examiners that attributed marks according to the degree of dye penetration along the interface enamel/restoration and dentin/restoration in occlusal and cervical wall, respectively. Results: The statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney test revealed the occurrence of marginal microleakage in both groups (Papacarie and rotatory instruments) when the cervical surface was evaluated and there was no significant difference between them. Nevertheless, when the oclusal surface was evaluated there was a significant difference between the groups, because in Papacarie’s group had worst results. Conclusion: The sealing properties of composite resin restorations were harmed by the method of caries removal with Papacarie .