Background: For successful restoration, it is necessary to minimize the microleakage between dentin and the composite material.
Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the microleakage of 2 different resin cements (self-adhesive and conventional) on dentin treated with acid, sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), the acid-NaOCl mixture, the erbium-doped yttrium aluminum garnet (Er:YAG) laser, and their combination.
Material and methods: Seventy dentin specimens were divided into 7 groups (n = 10) according to the surface treatment. Then, the specimens were divided into 2 subgroups (n = 35) according to the resin cement used during cementation with prepared composite resin blocks 5 mm × 11 mm × 3 mm: self-adhesive resin cement or conventional resin cement. Microleakage was scored and recorded at the occlusal and gingival levels, along the resin-dentin interfaces. The data was analyzed with the use of univariate analysis of variance (two-way ANOVA) and the Kruskal-Wallis test for both resin subgroups.
Results: The obtained results revealed that self-adhesive resin cement and conventional resin cement showed similar microleakage. Etching with sodium hypochlorite, the Er:YAG laser, the acid-NaOCl mixture, and their combination resulted in microleakage comparable to that achieved in acid etching, which is the conventional method of surface treatment.
Conclusions: Microleakage exhibited by self-adhesive resin cement was similar as in the case of conventional resin cement.
Keywords: composites; dentistry; resin cement.