effect of different prophylaxis methods on microleakage of microfilled composite restorations

background and aims. this study was aimed at evaluating the effect of different prophylaxis methods on microleakage of microfilled composite restorations. materials and methods. in this in vitro study, class v cavities were prepared on buccal surfaces of 84 bovine teeth. the teeth were restored with tetric n-bond adhesive and heliomolar composite resin. subsequent to a thermocycling procedure and three months of storage in distilled water, the teeth were randomly assigned to four groups (n=21): (1) prophylaxis with a rubber cup and pumice; (2) prophylaxis with a brush and pumice; (3) prophylaxis with air/powder polishing device; and (4) no prophylaxis (the control group). then the teeth were immersed in 2% basic fuchsin for 24 hours and sectioned for microleakage evaluation under a stereomicroscope. data were analyzed using kruskal-wallis and wilcoxon signed ranks tests. statistical significance was defined at p<0.05. results. there were no statistically significant differences in occlusal and gingival microleakage between the groups (p=0.996 and p=0.860, respectively). in all the groups gingival margins exhibited significantly higher microleakage values compared to occlusal margins (p<0.0005). conclusion. prophylaxis methods had no adverse effect on marginal leakage of microfilled composite resin restorations.