Effect of operator variability on microleakage with different adhesive systems

OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of operator variability on microleakage with different adhesive systems. MATERIALS AND METHODS A total of 180 standardized Class V cavities were prepared on facial and lingual of 90 extracted human premolar teeth and randomly assigned to five groups according to the adhesive systems used (n = 36): Prime and Bond NT (PB), Single Bond (SB), Futura Bond NR, Xeno III (XE) and Adper Prompt-L-Pop (LP). The adhesive groups were then further subdivided into three operator groups according to level of clinical experience (n = 12): An undergraduate student, a research assistant and a faculty member. All cavities were restored with same composite resin. The restored teeth were thermocycled (500 cycles, 5-55°C) then immersed in 0.5% basic fuchsin and measured for leakage under a stereomicroscope. Statistical analyses were performed with the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. RESULTS Significant inter-operator variation was found in the enamel margins in the XE group with significantly higher microleakage when used by the undergraduate student (P < 0.05). Although no significant differences in microleakage were found between adhesive systems for the research assistant and faculty member (P > 0.05), significant differences were observed between PB and LP, PB and XE, SB and LP and SB and XE in the enamel margins for the undergraduate student (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION Microleakage of adhesive systems is more dependent on interactions between the operator and adhesive material than on the choice of adhesive material.